Annie Reickert is a leader in the new school of waterwomen – all around ocean athletes that absolutely rip. Photo: Brian Solano
There are a lot of great surfers in the world. There are hordes of impressive paddlers. There are hundreds of proficient kite surfers. There are a handful of world-class foilers. But there are very few individuals that excel across the board.
According to a Google search, a waterwoman is “is a female who is considered by her peers and the marine sports community to be well-adept, experienced and highly skilled in various marine sports.”
Although there are a lot of waterwomen in the world, there are only a few that are truly great. Here, we’ve compiled a list of eight of the best all-around ocean athletes in the world. Read on for just an abbreviated version of their many accomplishments.
Annie Reickert
Maui
“Being in the ocean when it’s at its most raw and powerful is incredible. Whether I’m crossing a channel or I’m on a big wave, I love to chase that feeling. I’m also an adrenaline junkie, so when I get to ride one of those big waves and pull off in the channel, it’s one of the most incredible feelings in the world. There’s also something to be said about getting to chase swells all around the world and surf waves that are so inconsistent. It’s a really special journey.”
Annie Reickert, above, is a waterwoman through and through. Raised on Maui, she was introduced to surfing when she was just two. By the time she was 10, she knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to chasing waves.
While Reickert began her watersports career as a surfer, she quickly expanded into additional disciplines, excelling at all of them. Today, the 23-year-old longboards, shortboards, tow surfs, prone foils, downwind foils, wings, and stand-up paddles (all at, or near, professional levels. When Reickert heads to the beach, she regularly packs multiple boards, training based on what the conditions have to offer each day.
Reickert is quite accomplished, too. In 2018, at just 16, Reickert became the first female to cross the Ka’iwi Channel on a SUP foil. That same year, she placed third at the Jaws Big Wave Competition, a result that she’s hoping to better the next time the contest runs. In 2022, she won the Biggest Paddle division at the WSL Big Wave awards and the Best Tow Wave at the Red Bull Magnitude. In 2024, Reickert competed in the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational for the first time and placed the highest among the female competitors. She is also the fastest woman to complete the Molokai to Oahu crossing on a foil.
Andrea Moller at Jaws,on a record breaker. Photo: WSL//Pompermayer
Andrea Moller
Maui via São Paulo, Brazil
Andrea Moller is an impressive woman. Born and raised on the island of Ilhabela in São Paulo, Brazil, the ocean and water sports were a fundamental part of her life. In her youth, Moller was a top athlete in swimming, biking, and wind surfing. In 1988, she made the dream move to Maui where she shifted her focus to becoming a professional water sport’s athlete and paramedic.
Once she settled in Maui, Moller became actively involved in big wave surfing, stand-up paddling, and racing outrigger canoes. In outrigger, she competes in every discipline from OC-1 to OC-6 and is an extremely accomplished paddler. Moller also excels at stand-up paddling and holds the world record for winning, and crossing, the 32-mile Molokai to Oahu, Ka’iwi channel.
Out of all the water sports she participates in, big wave surfing is Moller’s bread and butter. She’s a regular in the lineup at Jaws, was a member of the first female tow-in team alongside Maria Souza, and in 2016, she won “women’s best performance” at the WSL Big Wave Awards. In 2023, she was awarded the Guinness World Record for biggest paddle-in wave for her 42-foot ride at Pe’ahi.
Lucas Chianca on the throttle, Justine Dupont off the rope, Cortes Bank. Photo: Wooding.
Justine Dupont
Bordeaux, France
“To me, being a waterwoman means enjoying, sharing, and respecting the ocean, whatever the conditions and the craft. I try to find the most adapted craft for the conditions of the day.”
Justine Dupont embodies the saying “go big or go home.” Although she’s most recognized as a big wave surfer, Dupont also shortboards, longboards, body surfs, stand-up paddles, foils, wing foils, and kite surfs.
Dupont first got her footing in the watersports world when she qualified for the WSL Championship Tour in 2011. Injury deterred her from reaching her full potential on the CT but she went on to excel in other disciplines. She became a stand-up paddle world champion and four-time vice world champion. She’s a three-time tow surfing world champion and a 12-time winner of the XXL Awards.
Dupont has dedicated her career to mastering Nazare, perhaps the biggest and deadliest wave in the world. Originally from France, Dupont now lives in Portugal so she can put in as much time as possible at the wave. And it’s paid off. She has four Nazare tow titles to her name, her most recent win coming after the birth of her first child.
Moona Whyte
North Shore, Oahu
Although Moona Whyte is primarily a kite surfer, she does it all. Raised on the North Shore of Oahu, Whyte was introduced to kite surfing by her dad when she was 14 and immediately fell in love with the thrill of riding waves. After that, she learned every form of surfing that she could, including longboarding, SUP surfing, shortboarding, and foiling.
In 2012, Whyte entered her first kite surfing competition. And won. In 2013, she became the KSP World Champion, in 2014 she earned the title of the PKRA world champion, and in 2017 she became the GKA world champion (yeah, that’s three different associations). In 2023, Whyte secured the first pure surfing wingfoil wave world title as well as another GKA kite surfing world championship, making her a four-time kite surfing world champion. Her plan is to continue pushing herself in surfing across the board, travel the world, and inspire more girls to take part in ocean sports. And possibly add another world title to her already impressive resume.
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Izzi Gomez
San Clemente, California via Florida
Born and raised in Holmes Beach, Florida, Izzi Gomez was surrounded by surf culture as a child. She began surfing as a toddler and competed in NSSA junior competitions throughout her youth. When she was 12, Gomez entered her first stand-up paddle competition and qualified for the SUP World Tour a year later. The following year, when she was 14, Gomez won the world title, becoming the youngest champ ever. Gomez went on to win four more world titles, becoming one of the most decorated stand-up paddle surfers of all time.
In 2019, Gomez decided to test her hand at a new discipline of surfing: big waves. Since, she’s tackled some of the world’s heaviest, including Jaws, Maverick’s, and Cortes Bank. She’s competed in the Red Bull Magnitude numerous times, winning the best tow in during the 2022-2023 campaign.
Gomez also has competed in numerous WSL Qualifying Series events over the years, with her best result at the SLO CAL Open at Morro Bay in 2020 where she took home the win. Gomez continues to push herself in the freesurfing realm and certainly has the chops to capture a big wave world title (if we continue to have an entity that provides a format for big wave surfers). And it’s no secret she’d love to represent Colombia in the Olympics, where her father hails from.
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Fiona Wylde
Hood River, Oregon
“I love being in and around the water in any way, shape, or form and I love having the skills to enjoy the water with a variety of different crafts and boards. Each sport teaches you to read the water in a new way which builds your overall ability to be successful in any condition. I’ve been able to follow my dream and build a very successful athletic career despite having Type 1 Diabetes. Living with diabetes is not easy, but when you have a passion and you have dreams, nothing stands in your way.”
Fiona Wylde first made a name for herself in the watersport’s world through stand-up paddling. Growing up, Wylde split her time between Hood River, Oregon and Los Barriles, BCS Mexico. She began wind surf racing at 11, kite surfing at 12, and stand-up paddling at 13. Wylde excelled across all disciplines and was consistently on the podium at SUP races when she received a scary diagnosis. On the day of her high school graduation, at the age of 18, Wylde was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
After learning how to manage her blood sugar levels, Wylde returned to competition and in 2016, she won her first SUP world title. In 2021, Wylde won two more titles at the International Canoe Federation SUP World Championships in Hungary, making her a three-time world champ. In addition to her world titles, Wylde won the Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge for five consecutive years, the Wing Foil World Tour Moroccan World Cup Champion in both racing and surf-freestyle, is a two-time Euro Tour SUP champion, Paris Nautica Crossing Champion, and US National Champion for IQ Foiling.
When Wylde is training or competing, she’s sharing her love of the water with others as well. In 2022, Wylde founded Wylde Wind & Water, a non-profit in Hood River that provides watersports education and opportunities to kids and adults.
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Paige Alms
Maui, Hawaii
Maui breeds talented waterwomen and Paige Alms is one of the best. Born in Victoria B.C, Canada, Alms relocated to Maui when she was nine and experienced her first big wave season when she was 15. She was hooked.
Since her first season riding big waves, Alms has been a regular at Pe’ahi. She won “Best Overall Performance” at the WSL Big Wave Awards in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2016, Alms won the Pe’ahi Women’s Challenge, making her the first woman to ever win a Big Wave Tour title. She went on to win the competition again in 2017 and 2024. At the 2021-2022 Red Bull Magnitude, Alms won best ride and in 2022-2023, she won best overall performance.
Although Alms is primarily known as a big wave surfer, she’s also a talented shortboarder, foil surfer, and downwind foiler. In addition, to her accomplishments as a watersport’s athlete, Alms has done a lot of work to advance women’s big wave surfing.
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Sklyar Lickle
Maui
“To be a water woman is to be an enjoyer of life. The ocean is constantly my greatest teacher – it humbles me and makes me laugh (and sometimes cry). My favorite part about being an avid ocean lover is all the different ways I can actively engage my body and express myself. My body is constantly being tested and pushed to its limits and in doing so, I’m mentally tested and challenged at the same time.”
Skylar Lickle was always destined to be a waterwoman. Her dad was one of the pioneers of tow-in surfing, and wind surfing, at Pe’ahi. Naturally, Lickle spent her childhood in the ocean. But it wasn’t until she was nine, when she first tried kiting, that Lickle became truly invested in watersports.
Shortly after she tried kiting, Lickle qualified stand-up surfing on the APP World Tour. A few years later, she started competing in shortboarding. In 2014, Lickle’s dad bought a Jet Ski and started towing her into waves on outer reefs and in 2019, Lickle followed in her father’s footsteps and dropped into first wave at Pe’ahi.
Today, Lickle’s focus is centered around riding waves of consequence, but she’s also been spending a lot of time paddling an OC-2 and learning to downwind foil. Lickle is focused on perfecting her skills at home (Jaws is right down the road) and has found a lot of success there. Lickle has also shined at the Red Bull Magnitude, winning overall performance in 2021-2022 and best ride and second overall in 2022-2023.
