“You know, sometimes I amaze even myself,” famously said Han Solo in Star Wars. Carissa Moore may be thinking the same right about now. When she announced her return to the Championship Tour this spring, it felt more like a celebration than a world title campaign. But after winning her Round 2 heat against longtime rival Sally Fitzgibbons at the Fiji Pro, the five-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist has taken over the No. 1 spot on the Championship Tour leaderboard … and maybe amazed herself in the process.
Her program in Fiji has been different than in years past. Staying on the mainland at the Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay with her beautiful little family, the trip’s been as much of a vacation as it has serious competition. With the ability to unplug from the scene on Tavarua, where a lot of the competitors are staying, she’s been able to flip the switch between cruising and the intense focus of surfing heats. Now into the quarterfinals, clearly the formula is working.
Stepping away from full-time competition following the 2024 Paris Olympics to start a family, Moore’s comeback is one of the best stories in surfing this year. Winning her first world title in 2011 at just 18 years old, the surfer from Hawaii went on to claim titles in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021 (and I would argue she should have one or two more had it not been for the WSL Finals years). She also won the inaugural Olympic women’s gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Over the course of her storied career, she has finished outside the top three only once between 2010 and 2023, a testament to her consistency, drive, and bottomless talent.
Moore’s first three events of 2026 were respectable, but not necessarily spectacular. Then came Raglan. At the inaugural Corona Cero New Zealand Pro, Moore found her groove. Besting Sawyer Lindblad in the final for her 29th CT victory, she followed that up with another win at Punta Roca in El Salvador, her 30th CT win and her second consecutive victory.
Related: Gabriela Bryan on Carissa Moore, Fiji and Being No. 1 in the World
Arriving in Fiji ranked No. 2 behind good friend Gabriela Bryan, Moore quietly, unassumingly went to work. Cloudbreak is familiar territory for Moore, though not necessarily friendly territory. Her best result at the Fiji Pro came in 2016, when she finished runner-up to Johanne Defay in six- to eight-foot surf. Moore’s never won the event, making her run at the podium this year even more special.
Time will tell where she goes from here, but with every heat she makes, Moore’s prospects for a sixth world title are looking better. After Fiji, the tour heads to Trestles, one of her favorite waves on the planet, and somewhere she feels very much at home. Then there’s Portugal, where she’s enjoyed multiple event wins; Cloud Nine in the Philippines, which is a bit of an unknown for everyone; and the return of the Pipe Masters to end the season. There’s still a lot of surfing left this year, but seriously, Moore has to have surprised herself with where she’s at thus far.
Related: 19-Year-Old Erin Brooks Scores Perfect 10 In Fiji: “Best Heat Of My Life”