Hawaii surfer Carissa Moore wins big at home with crowd

Waikiki, the ancient cradle of surfing, was recharged with youthful energy Wednesday morning as a cheering crowd greeted Carissa Moore, who was crowned world surfing champion on Maui two days before, who stood smiling, head and shoulders garlanded with lei, beside the towering, flower-decked statue of srufing legend Duke Kahanamoku with his longboard.

It was the 27-year-old Honolulu native’s fourth world title, sweetened by qualifying for the first-ever Olympic competition in surfing, coming up at the 2020 Tokyo summer games.

“It’s been such an emotional couple of days, I haven’t been able to keep myself from crying,” said Moore, who rode to victory Monday in a tense cliffhanger. After winning her quarterfinal heat with two brilliant tube rides in 4- to 6-foot waves at Honolua Bay, in the 10th and last contest of the tour she saw her top rival eliminated, finally locking in Moore’s world title and Olympic dreams.

It was a hard-won end to the four-year dry spell since Moore’s third world title in 2015.

“It was probably the longest year of my life, so this win feels a little more special,” said her husband and Punahou classmate, Luke Unterman.

“I love you,” Moore said, interrupting him with a kiss.

Besides Honolua Bay, the couple’s favorite event this year was her win at J-Bay, South Africa, where she’d hit “probably her low point” last year, Untermann said.

Moore’s dad and coach, Chris Moore, looked happy but drained as he credited her victory to “a real aggressive attack all year long that was exhausting, too.”

Summing up the year, “Every moment has been very special,” said Moore’s younger sister, Kayla Moore, “and it all accumulated to the end (with) very magical Honolua Bay.”

Their mom, Carol Moore, remembered how the girls started out being pushed onto waves by their parents at Waikiki.

“I’m so excited to go to the Olympics and share the spirit of aloha that Duke shared,” Moore said of the Waikiki-born waterman and first Native Hawaiian to participate in the Olympics, where he won gold and silver medals in swimming.

“This win isn’t just for me but for my family and friends, all of you,” she told the crowd, opening her arms wide in a gesture echoing that of the ambassador of aloha behind her.

She thanked all her well-wishers, including “all the little girls on the cliff and in the water (at Honolua) that day.”

Next, Moore was off to New York for some media appearances.

Then, Untermann said, they’d get away to a little house on Molokai.

His wife said she needed to decide what surfboards to take to Japan.