British surfer first to win big wave award

Cornish surfer Tom Lowe has become the first Briton to win Surfer of the Year at the international Big Wave Challenge awards after recovering from a near-fatal accident.

The award was presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles just over a year since he suffered severe head trauma during a wipeout at Teahupo'o in Tahiti.

Lowe, 42, who is originally from St Ives, was also nominated for ride of the year for a wave he surfed at Mullaghmore in Ireland.

"This one's for all the kids out there who've come from nothing, nowhere, skint, struggling at school, everyone saying you've got no chance," he said after the awards.

Lowe's path to winning the award follows years surfing the world's biggest waves after he first made his mark at Mullaghmore.

Along with his ascendancy in big wave surfing have come the falls, including a serious wipeout at Teahupo'o in 2023.

He has described the accident as the most painful experience of his life and said he thought he was dying.

In June 2025, at the same spot, he was knocked unconscious and spent several minutes underwater before being rescued and resuscitated by fellow surfers.

Just six months after the accident, he paddled into a giant barrel at Mullaghmore during one of the winter's biggest swells.

That ride was later selected as one of only three finalists for ride of the year at the big wave awards.

Lowe said: "Surfer of the Year sounds proper surreal and I'm just beyond grateful to be here. It's kind of hard to take everything in."

He paid tribute to those closest to him and the surfers who rescued him after the accident.

Reflecting on his return to big wave surfing, he said: "If this award represents anything, I guess it means, after years of pouring my heart and soul into the place, I've opened the portal at Mullaghmore.

"There's no reason to tow those giant days anymore. I paddled the wave of my life during the biggest swell we've ever seen out there."

Lowe, who now lives in New Zealand with wife Tess and their two daughters, added: "After everything I've been through, being here, alive, with my family and friends is more than enough. So this is just incredible."

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