Kirra Pinkerton wins gold at the 2022 ISA World Games. Photo: ISA/Pablo Franco
At 20 years old, Kirra Pinkerton’s surfing resume isn’t too shabby. She won the WSL Junior Championships when she was 16. This year, she won gold at the ISA World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach, helping team USA win gold, too, and securing an extra Olympic spot for the United States in the process. But for Pinkerton, this is just the beginning. She plans to qualify for the Championship Tour, win a world title, and use that extra Olympic spot to bring home a medal for her country. Pinkerton may have big dreams, but she isn’t afraid to put in the work it takes to achieve them. Here, the San Clemente surfer shares how she first got into surfing, what a typical week looks like when she’s home, and what led to her success at the ISA World Surfing Games.
How did you first get into surfing?
I grew up in San Clemente and started surfing from a really young age, maybe two or three, with my dad. He took me to Kauai a lot, so I grew up going there every year and surfing there. Eventually, I started doing fun little contests and fell in love with surfing.
When did you first start competing?
I started doing contests when I was six. Around nine, I started getting super competitive and already knew it was what I wanted. Over the years, I improved and eventually knew I could make a career out of it – that’s when I started following a path of getting everything dialed down to become a competitive surfer.
Tell us about becoming the 2018 WSL Junior Champ.
I was 16 and that was really eye opening. I went into that event not thinking anything of it. I remember at the end of the event I cried to my dad, ‘I just want to keep doing this’ because it was the best feeling I had ever felt. I just wanted to be able to keep on making those achievements.
What was it like winning gold at the ISA event?
I actually wasn’t even supposed to be in that event. I got a late call up, so I had no pressure on me. I knew there was an Olympic spot, but I didn’t understand everything about the event. We had a really good team, a lot of them were from San Clemente and the other girls were on Hurley, so I’ve known them for a long time. We had a tight crew and the support helped us push through a lot of heats. It was a really long week, and I couldn’t believe I had won by the end of it.
How did it feel securing that extra Olympic spot?
That was really cool. I didn’t really know too much about how to receive that during the event. On the last day, I knew that Australia was in the lead by a lot and Sally (Fitzgibbons) would need to get third in the finals and I would need to win. It felt like a miracle, and it somehow worked out to be exactly the amount of points we needed to get the win, which made it that much better.
What do you think led to your success there?
It was kind of like a long lead up. Right before COVID, I was doing really well in the events and then we had a big break in contests and I kind of lost my competitiveness. I wasn’t going to keep competing, but I already had the points, so I decided to keep going. I struggled to get back into it. These past five months, I’ve really been putting in the work and have been working on what I need to do for myself rather than focusing on what everyone else does. That’s helped me figure out how to dial down what helps me be my best self in heats and free surfing in general.
What does a typical week at home look like?
I usually surf every day. When I’m home and I’m preparing for a contest, I try not to surf Lowers just because Lowers is such a perfect wave. I’ll go to Lowers once in the morning and then I’ll surf a beach break in the afternoon. And then, about three times a week, I go to Huntington to work out. I do some yoga pretty much every day just to keep my body loose and feeling good. I try to cook every day, but I’m not the best chef.
There aren’t a ton of big waves in OC. How are you so good at surfing big waves?
When I was a little kid, I would throw myself into closeouts. When my dad would take me to Hawaii and Kauai, he said I had no fear paddling out into waves and it eventually got to a point where I was pushing my limits. I’ve always had this passion for surfing big waves. I almost don’t even realize the size of it until afterwards.
I’ve surfed Waimea a few times. When I was in Indo, we got a few bigger days, but it was more for barrels. I do want to eventually surf Jaws and maybe Mavericks, but that seems a little cold.
What are your goals looking forward?
I’m hoping either this year or next year I’ll make the tour. And my biggest goal is to be in the Olympics and win a world title. I also want to be the first person to win every event of the year on the CT, kind of a big goal.
