On the Rocks at Point Panic

Only six minutes remain in the last heat of the 2024 International Bodysurfing Association World Tour Finals at Point Panic, Oahu. In third place, 17-year-old French bodysurfer Uhaina-Kailani Hegoas sits nearly 5 points behind the leader, Hawaiian powerhouse DeLori Gomes.

The stakes are high. Their heat, the Open Women’s Final, will end an epic contest featuring 82 of the world’s best bodysurfers in perfect 6- to 8-foot waves. 

These competitors have been winnowed down from over 400 bodysurfers from Europe, Africa, North America, Australia, Asia, Latin America, and Polynesia. The level of talent in the water is off the charts. The swell does not disappoint.

“Top-three swells I’ve ever seen at Panics,” says contest organizer Philip Kitamura. “Extremely consistent. Often offshore. Sets every 10 to 15 minutes. At least five waves in a set. Barreling, peeling rights. A lot of waves in between the sets. An absolute dream.” 

“Without a doubt, it got better and better over the course of the three days,” says Dan Malloy, a qualifier from the North American bracket. “And it saved the best for last. Ridiculous conditions. So much energy on Day Three.”

A long lull has stalled the action. The clock ticks down to five minutes. Time is running out. The four women tread water, eyes staked to the horizon. Suddenly, a big, strangely angled set appears. The competitors roll the dice, sprinting in wildly different directions from one another. Despite first priority, Gomes gambles on the first wave, a smaller forerunner that breaks well inside and doesn’t improve her overall score. 

Hegoas has recognized that the pack has been sitting too deep. She sprints wide to catch the second wave in the set, arriving just in time to drop into the pocket. Driven by the long-period juice, she bobs, weaves, and spins across its face, stylishly rodeoing the beast. Then, to the crowd’s amazement, she disappears into the barrel for four full seconds. When her yellow cap emerges from the foam-
ball, a roar of joy and astonishment erupts from the crowd. Hegoas is back on the wave’s face as it pushes into the channel. She disappears from view behind the lava-rock seawall. 

The cheers quickly die away. Smiles turn to concerned looks. Two paramedics begin running toward the area where Hegoas has disappeared. “Someone is hurt,” the announcer says. “Can someone call 911?”

“At the beginning, I was trying to stay high on the wave,” says Hegoas. “I did a spin and went back to the highest place I could ride. After that, I started getting deep in the barrel. Staying in the right place was hard because the wave was pushing me so strongly. A few seconds later, I felt powerful foam push me towards the exit. I couldn’t see anything at this point, but I felt through all my body and mind that I was very close to getting out. I remember my dad telling me, ‘You can get out of the barrel at Panics. Trust me, you can make it.’ So, I opened my eyes through the foam and saw the way. The inside foam pushed me out of the barrel, and then I finally saw the rocks getting too close, but it was too late to escape.”

Hegoas tries to pull out of the wave but can’t escape its grasp. The wave slams her onto the lava rock like a professional wrestler. When it’s over, her back is in great pain. She can’t move her arms or legs. She can’t feel her fingers or toes. She can’t breathe. She is in shock.
She is deathly afraid she might be paralyzed. Many hands help her from the water. On shore, the paramedics set her C-spine. The crowd cheers as she’s loaded into an ambulance.

At the hospital, the feeling returns to her body. The X-ray comes back negative for permanent damage. She is diagnosed with some scratches and a nasty hematoma on her back. Her dad tells her that she’s won the contest and is the new world champ. The wave was a 10—the only perfect score of the event. She has won the greatest bodysurfing contest in history.

Hegoas recovers quickly. A few months later, she wins Women’s Grand Champion at the Worlds contest in Oceanside, California.