Video: Moana Jones Wong Is The Undisputed Queen Of Pipeline
There's never been another woman to surf Pipeline with the combined grace and aplomb of Moana Jones Wong. Her dedication to the most deadly surf spot in the world is unrivaled, and her commitment to go on the big, scary set waves, it's absolutely inspiring. Just like she has the last two years, Jones Wong will enter into the Pipe Pro as a wildcard. But despite the low seed she'll have in the draw, she's immediately the favorite to win the contest.
In 2022, Jones Wong announced her arrive when she won the Pipe Pro. But growing up on the North Shore, her relationship with the infamous Hawaiian reef was cemented long before that. In 2023, Jones Wong landed in ninth at the Pipe Pro before ending the year with a win at the Pipe Masters.
The right surfer at the right time, in 2020, the women's Championship Tour was set to conclude at Honolua Bay. In the early morning hours before the contest, a shark attacked a surfer in the Maui lineup, forcing the event's postponement. The surfer ultimately ended up dying from their wounds. Rather than return to Honolua Bay, the WSL opted to move to Pipeline and run the rest of the event in conjunction with the men's tour. It was the first time Championship Tour women would compete at Pipeline.
After cutting her teeth in local Qualifying Series event in Hawaii, by 2022, Jones Wong was into the main event at Pipe. Beating two-time world champ Tyler Wright in the semis, who'd won the event in the year before, and then five-time world champ Carissa Moore in the final, who would win the event the following year, all of a sudden Jones Wong found herself in the company of the sport's greats.
Continuing to keep her eyes squarely focused down the line, Jones Wong has taken that opportunity in 2022 and transformed herself into one of the recognizable surfers on the planet today. Sometimes all it takes is one opportunity to change the game completely.
John John Florence, Moana Jones Wong Top Podium At 2023 Pipe Masters
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.