On December 23, 2024, Alo Slebir surfed a wave at Maverick’s that seemed unthinkable. Social media, surf media, and mainstream media alike jumped on a bandwagon claiming the bomb was not only a new world record, but that it had eclipsed the 100-foot mark (108-feet, to be exact). The WSL announced at this weekend’s 2025 Big Wave Challenge Awards ceremony in Newport that the wave was, in fact, the largest surfed in 2024-2025, but it fell short of the outrageous claims at 76 feet.
To Slebir’s credit, he never seemed to care about the final measurement, whether he’d set a new world record or if he’d become the first person in the world to surf a 100-foot wave. He’s simply said more than once in the past eight months that it was the biggest wave he’s ever ridden.
“Regardless of the number, it really doesn’t matter how big the wave was to me,” he told SFGATE. “It was really the biggest wave of my life and that’s all I really care about at the moment.”
Slebir was awarded the Men’s Biggest Wave Honor at the September 13 event, where the WSL’s measurement was shared. He thanked the guy that swung him into that wave afterward.
“Years after my first Maverick’s session, a man child named Luca Padua, who was once just an acquaintance, has become one of my best friends and tow partner. We’ve spent countless hours in the water over the last few winters, preparing for days like December 23rd. I want to thank Luca for the rides we’ve shared and, especially, for the wave that won us the award. I wouldn’t have ridden that wave, or many others, without his help,” Slebir wrote. “Lastly and most importantly, I’d like to thank my family and the Padua family. They are the backbone of our adventures.”
The WSL’s measurement still isn’t the official say on Slebir’s wave. That determination should come from Guinness World Records, according to an announcement from the league earlier this week.
