Californian Wins Hawaii's Big-Wave Blowout

Waves hit 40 feet in first 'Eddie' held since 2004
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 8, 2009 9:20 PM CST
Californian Wins Hawaii's Big-Wave Blowout
Five surfers drop down the face of a large wave at Waimea Bay during today's event.   (AP Photo)

A Californian won Hawaii’s most prestigious big-wave surfing event today, getting a perfect score in the final heat of the competition, which mandates waves of at least 20 feet and was held for the first time since 2004. Greg Long, 26, beat out superstar Kelly Slater, who held the lead most of the day in waves of 35-40 feet on Oahu's North Shore; he takes home $55,000 in prize money from the event, officially named Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau.
(More surfing stories.)

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