Katie McConnell’s Event-Winning Wave at Todos Santos (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated Sep 4, 2024 6:15 PM ET

The only live big-wave event that ran in the northern hemisphere in the winter of 2023-24 happened off the coast of Baja California. The 2024 Thriller at Killers, organized by Big Wave World Tour founder Gary Linden and Punta Brava Golf & Surf Club founder Brian Tucker, was held on a single day in late February. The event saw bluebird conditions and the odd 30-footer pouring in.

The two winners were Los Angeles surfer Cody Purcell and Encinitas’s Katie McConnell. In the final, McConnell paddled her 10'0" Linden into this wave to win over big-wave savants Paige Alms and Bianca Valenti, solidifying her name in the upper echelon of women’s big-wave surfing. She cut through the noise and the chop on wave that's easily in the 20-foot range.

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A post shared by Katie McConnell (@keiti_mar)

McConnell’s ascension has been well chronicled, from surf school instructor to Marine Biology and Scientific Diving student at UC Santa Cruz to 2022 Red Bull Magnitude Rookie of the Year. She works for her opportunities in the ocean, and clocks shifts as a substitute teacher on Maui just to have a chance at Jaws.

McConnell could be adding to her accolades this winter, as this is her third entry into the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge. Catch her other two here and here.

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

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