Photo: Pablo Jimenez // ISA
The ISA World Longboarding Championships are underway. Starting on April 25, the world’s best longboarders gathered in El Sunzal, El Salvador, to vie for gold and glory. However, one of the most dramatic moments of the event so far actually happened outside of competition, when Rachael Tilly found herself nearly pasted against a wall by a rising swell.
The drama went down in the second round of the women’s event. The fifth round was a matchup between Japan’s Natsumi Taoka, Portugal’s Inês Martins, Korea’s Hyehyun Song, and Tilly. During the actual heat, Tilly handily advanced, placing second behind Taoka. However, the 2024 champion found significantly more resistance when she attempted to return from the surf.
“When trying to get out of the water after the heat was more eventful than the heat itself,” said Tilly in the caption of an Instagram post. “Thanks to the lifeguards for the help, high tide nailed us with the building swell but all is well that ends well. Round 2 done and onto round 3 here at the ISA World Longboard Championships.”
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