The final horn of the Titans of Mavericks surf contest had sounded a minute earlier, but Greg Long wasn’t going to let an expired contest clock prevent him from catching the biggest wave of the day.
Long paddled past the last two surfers in the lineup (including event winner Nic Lamb) and air dropped through the offshore spray into the most menacing wave of the afternoon. Covered by an avalanche of whitewater, Long emerged for a split second before being tossed down the face like a ragdoll over Niagara Falls.
Long didn’t win Mavericks (set to air nationally May 30 at 5 p.m. PST on FOX Sports 1) on this day, but his last ride won over the crowd, his fellow big-wave competitors, and further solidified his place as one of the gutsiest big wave surfers in the world.
“Oh my goodness,” Red Bull Signature Series TV announcer Mike Parsons said of the post-contest move. “Greg Long just manning up on a wave right there, on a huge wave after the heat. … Wow. What a legend.”
The 33-year-old from San Clemente, Calif., went on to win the Mavericks Boldest Drop Award at Pillar Point on Feb. 12, and two weeks later was named World Surf League Big Wave Tour champion for the second time.
“I wouldn’t be out there if I wasn’t having fun doing it,” Long said during a recent phone interview from Mexico, where he’s training for the next round of big-wave events. “There are still those challenging moments, where you look at the wave and say, ‘If I can push myself over that ledge, I can have a really late drop.’ That was the (Mavericks) wave I was waiting for all week. It was ironic that it came after the horn, but regardless, every opportunity is a chance to learn something new and to push myself.”