Australian surf star, Laura Enever, has been crowned female Surfer of the Year at the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge Awards in Nazaré, Portugal.

The awards ceremony celebrates the world’s best big-wave surfers and the photographers and videographers who capture them in action. Enever was the only Australian woman to be nominated in any category.

The Surfer of the Year category recognises those surfers who are dedicated to the big-wave pursuit by chasing the biggest, heaviest waves.

After an epic big wave season, Enever was honoured to receive the highest accolade. “With so many incredible women in big wave surfing, it’s an honour just to be nominated for an award like this,” she said. “I’m so grateful to receive this recognition for doing what I love.”

The 31-year-old from North Narrabeen in Sydney had spent seven seasons on the WSL championship tour before pursuing opportunities in big wave surfing.

Known for her remarkable achievements in big wave surfing, Enever also made history in late 2023 by setting the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave paddled in by a woman. Enever caught the record-breaking 13.3-metre wave at Outer Reef on the North Shore of Oahu in January last year with the feat confirmed by record-keepers in November 2023.

“I knew it was big when I paddled into it and then when I took off I looked down and I knew it was definitely the biggest wave I’ve ever caught,” Enever said last year.

Enever was approximately one kilometre offshore at the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, where the deep ocean meets the shallower island sea floor, when the wave of her life rose to meet her.

Many big wave surfers rely on jet skis to tow them into waves at speed, but certain conditions allow surfers to adopt a traditional approach and paddle in. So it was for Enever.

“I knew it was the wave of my life, the whole way it all came together and the way I committed, backed myself, told myself to go, and trusted I could do it,” Enever said. “The ride was such a breakthrough for me and a moment that will be really special and monumental in my surf career.”

Looking ahead, she is preparing for the prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, where she will once again join the world’s best big wave surfers in Hawaii’s Waimea Bay.