Rare air for Carissa Moore, who reclaims No. 1 rank and takes title

Shocking even herself en route to winning the Newcastle Cup and regaining the No. 1 ranking, four-time world champion Carissa Moore of Hawaii landed an air reverse Friday at the world tour event in Australia, earning the highest single-wave score of the event so far, a near-perfect 9.90.

According to a World Surfing Tour release, Moore took off on a medium set and went off the lip and into an air-reverse, possibly the biggest landed by a female in competition.

“You have to keep reinventing yourself when you’re amongst this field,” Moore said. “All of these girls are so good and constantly pushing the level of surfing. I never land those things let alone in a 30-minute heat. The waves are so incredible out there right now. I’m so glad WSL waited for the tide. There is so much on offer — turns, barrels, airs — there is just so much opportunity. I’m just so excited at the moment, I can’t believe it.”

On Saturday, beat Caroline Marks, her U.S. teammate for the upcoming Olympics, in the semifinals and then rookie Isabella Nichols to take the title.