On-Duty Lifeguard Wins Hawaii's 'Super Bowl of Surfing' While on His Break: 'I Can't Believe It'

Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser/AP

On-duty lifeguard Luke Shepardson won the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on Sunday while on an extended break from his supervisor.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the 27-year-old North Shore native reigned supreme among the 40 competitors and successfully defeated two-time world champion John John Florence. He scored 89.1 points out of a possible 90 in between watching over an estimated 50,000 spectators at the competition.

"I can't believe it, it's f---ing crazy. I've got to get back to the tower to make sure everyone's OK until the end of the day," Shepardson told the newspaper shortly after his win, adding that it "was a dream come true just to be part of The Eddie, just to be on the alternate list."

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Following his win, Shepardson was celebrated by the C&C of Honolulu Ocean Safety, the lifeguard command center which he is a part of, with a sweet Instagram post that read: "Luke! You did it and were so humble along the way!!! We are so proud of you!!! #eddie2023."

According to the surf contest's website, "the Eddie is the premier Event in the sport of Surfing – The Super Bowl of Surfing." It honors Eddie Aikau, the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay and the entire North Shore who saved over 500 people throughout his career.

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After his win on Sunday, Shepardson became the first lifeguard to win the competition — what Hawaii Public Radio said included "towering wave faces and a gigantic swell."

"We've been looking at 30-foot to 40-foot wave faces for the most part, (and) the biggest waves of the day are going to be in excess of 45 feet. By local scale, they'll call those waves 25 feet — and we've seen a couple sets like that already," Kevin Wallis, director of forecasting at Surfline.com, told the publication before the start of Sunday's competition.

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According to Hawaii Magazine, the last Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational took place on Feb. 25, 2016, with more than 1.2 million viewers from over 200 countries tuning into the event's livestream.

While it was created in 1984, it has only been held nine times as it requires waves to reach heights of 20 feet between Dec. 14 and March 23 in order for surfers to compete.