2019 Women’s Paddle Record Nominee: Andrea Moller at Jaws. Photo: Fred Pompermayer/WSL
Andrea Moller has been officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records, being honored by the WSL during Thursday’s 2019 Big Wave Awards for the Women’s Biggest Paddle-in Wave.
“I still remember that day like it was yesterday,” she said in her acceptance speech. “It was one of the biggest days I’ve ever paddled out. It was [an] El Niño year and it was just magic. Beautiful conditions, I went out there not knowing what to expect and all of a sudden it just happened.”
Moller paddled into the wave back in January during a session at Jaws. The WSL had announced earlier this year that a Guinness World Record would be announced at the 2019 Big Wave Awards, and while they’ve dubbed it an “official Guinness World Record,” they didn’t specify the record-setting size.
“I want to thank the WSL for going forward with equality,” Moller added during her speech. “It’s an amazing achievement…you are inspiring not just surfers but everybody around the world to really see that equality is the way to go.”
She also took a moment to recognize Sunny Garcia, in what’s been a heartbreaking turn of events as he recovers from a reported suicide attempt in Portland: “I think what happened to Sunny Garcia can maybe bring awareness to everybody to really look around and love each other. We’re all here for one reason. We love the ocean. We love surfing.”
Editor’s Note: Video of Andrea Moller’s acceptance along with other highlights from the 2019 WSL Big Wave Awards can be found here.
