Luke Shepardson claims victory in Hawaii competition, which is only held when waves at Waimea Bay consistently reach 30ft or bigger
Luke Shepardson is more accustomed to saving lives than winning international surf competitions, but on Monday the on-duty lifeguard saw off some of the biggest names in the sport to claim victory at the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational inShepardson had to get permission from his boss to take time out from his day job to compete in the elusive event, which throws professional and local surfers together in huge swells and this week ran for the first time in seven years.
Shepardson, 27, scored 89.1 points out of a possible 90 to claim the title and $10,000 prize money. As he joined Florence and other previous winners including Kelly Slater, Bruce Irons and Ross Clarke Jones, he was hoisted up in celebration on the beach – still clad in distinctive yellow and red life-savers attire.Photograph: MediaPunch/Rex/Shutterstock
Aikau saved more than 500 people during his career but during a journey in 1978 re-enacting an ancient route of Polynesian migration between Hawaii and Tahiti, the voyaging canoe he was aboard capsized. Aikau paddled away on his surfboard to raise the alarm and the rest of the crew were later rescued. But Aikau disappeared and his body was never found.
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