Bethany Hamilton Falls From the Sky at Pipeline (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Jan 6, 2025 3:32 PM ET

Bethany Hamilton’s surfing career, post shark attack, is nothing short of inspiring. What the Hawaii native can do with one arm, it surpasses what most surfers can do with two. And especially when it comes to bigger, heavier waves – like at Pipeline, the world’s deadliest surf spot, and the location of the currently-underway 2025 edition of the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout.

Joining team A New Earth Project, Bethany put on a show during the first day of competition. She scratched her way into two very large, very steep Pipeline bombs, successfully making the drops, but not finding the tube in the tricky conditions. Still, the drops alone are worth marveling at. See below:

“Oh my god, I was in the perfect place to see both of Bethany’s drops,” said Koa Smith, Bethany’s teammate in the competition. “I was, like, borderline don’t go. But she was just so committed.”

And Bethany added:

“Mid to early afternoon, there wasn’t really many inviting ones in my eyes. So, I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ But then those second reef popups started coming through. I saw one that I wanted. I was like, ‘okay I’ll go out. I’ll hunt and look and crawl…just give it a go if it comes to me.’”

It’s not the first time that Bethany was charging during the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. In years past at this same event, some of the most memorable waves came from the Kauai-born surfer. Particularly in 2022, when she took off on a monster, stood tall, and packed a terrifying closeout.

And recently, in the leadup to the event, Bethany talked about surfing Pipeline, admitting:

“Paddling in with one arm, it is super challenging. I would be lying if I didn’t think that.”

Yet she still charges. Stay tuned for more from the 2025 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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