French surfer Johanne Defay wins Vans US Open of Surfing

Defay (28), wins her first elite championship tour event

Defay, a Réunion-native, took victory in small surf and a massive crowd.

Johanne Defay (28), a French professional surfer, has won the Women's Vans US Open of Surfing competition. This is the first title Defay has won since joining the elite championship tour.

The competition took place in Huntington Beach, California and featured 13 other elite female surfers, including 7x world champion Stephanie Gilmore. Conditions were small on the day of the final, but Defay was able to find the best of the waves to post a heat total of 14.60 and take the win.

Defay has been surfing since she was 10 years old and has been a regular on the Championship Tour since 2015. Her best result before this win was a 3rd place finish at the Margaret River Pro in 2019.