Dane Henry, Team Australia Win Big at ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 6:12 PM ET

After nice days of waves at La Bocana, two finalists emerged victorious at the ISA World Surfing Games. Dane Henry of Australia and Janire Gonzalez-Etxabarri of Spain won the men’s and women’s individual gold medals, respectively.

The word historic gets overused these days, but in this case, for both finalists, it’s warranted. For Dane, a 19-year-old surfer from Queensland who even Mick Fanning can’t help notice , it was storybook stuff. Dane won the ISA World Junior Games last year, then one-upped himself by winning the big show over the weekend. The list of other surfers who can claim to have both titles is slim and vaunted: Tom Curren, Gabriel Medina, and Jordy Smith. That’s it.

“That is a crazy club to be a part of,” said Dane, who demolished the playful rights in the final to handily beat Olympic gold medalist Kauli Vaast and former CT top-five surfer Morgan Cibilic. “The whole time I had belief in myself that I could do it. My surfing’s been feeling spot on. I really wanted to really shine in the Final and I’m really glad that I got the opportunity to do that. Competing against guys like Kauli, Morgan and Douglas [Silva], you’ve got to pull out the best. I have a really special connection with this place and this competition now. I felt really in my element, which definitely pushed me through and helped me get the win.”

It was a long time between drinks for Australia, which had not won the ISA World Games as a team for 14 years. This win is the county’s sixth team gold and 16th total medal. Meanwhile, Janire's win was historic in its own right. Her victory marked Spain’s first-ever gold medal at the ISA World Surfing Games. She did it against the most decorated ISA surfer in history, four-time winner Sally Fitzgibbons. The Australian finished in third place, adding a sixth WSG medal to her collection. Janire’s points boosted Spain to third place in the team standings, which equaled its best-ever team result (a third in 2017).

“It’s like I’m sleeping in a dream and all of this is not real,” said Janire, the only goofyfoot in the final. “I just have no words. I’m super happy and I don’t know what to say. I was paddling out super happy and just grateful to be in the final and to be able to maybe get the gold. I made it, but I just wanted to enjoy my heat and show my surfing. I wasn’t thinking about the gold, I was thinking about wave-by-wave and just showing my surfing. I’m super happy.”

2025 ISA World Surfing Games Results

Team
Gold – Australia
Silver – Peru
Bronze – Spain
Copper – France

Men
Gold – Dane Henry (AUS) (18.17)
Silver – Kauli Vaast (FRA) (17.57)
Bronze – Morgan Cibilic (AUS) (14.77)
Copper – Douglas Silva (BRA) (13.60)

Women
Gold – Janire Gonzalez-Etxabarri (ESP) (14.57)
Silver – Yolanda Hopkins (POR) (13.57)
Bronze – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) (13.57)
Copper – Arena Rodriguez (PER) (8.53)

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

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