Dana Point native Rachael Tilly has added another prestigious accolade to her storied surfing career, capturing her first individual gold medal at the 2025 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship on May 1.
The 27-year-old surfer, a graduate of San Clemente High School, delivered a standout performance in the final round to secure the top spot on the podium. With a cumulative score of 15.13, Tilly edged out France’s Alice Le Moigne (14.6) and Peru’s Maria Fernanda Reyes (13.97) in a tightly contested heat.
“I’m absolutely speechless,” Tilly said following the win. “Obviously, this was the goal. I’ve gotten two silver medals, and I really, really wanted to win gold. But I knew that was going to be a really tough heat with the competition. And then Alice opened up with a 9, and I backed up with an 8, and I was, like, ‘OK, it’s on.’ So, yeah, I can’t believe it.”
The victory marks a significant milestone for Tilly, who previously earned silver medals at the ISA World Longboard Championships and contributed to Team USA’s gold medal finish in 2018. This year, her individual win also helped propel Team USA to a second-place finish overall, behind four-time champions France. The Philippines earned the bronze medal, while Brazil took home the copper.
Tilly, who grew up in Capistrano Beach and now resides in San Clemente, has been a dominant force in women’s professional longboarding for over a decade. She first made international headlines at age 15, when she won silver at the inaugural ISA World Longboard Championship in 2013. In 2015, she became the youngest surfer ever to win a WSL Longboard World Title, clinching the championship in Hainan, China.
Her most recent ISA title now places her in a rare category, holding both the ISA and WSL World Longboard Champion titles concurrently. Tilly won her second WSL World Title in October 2024 at El Sunzal, further cementing her reputation on the global surfing stage.
Tilly’s passion for the sport began early. One of her earliest memories is of her father taking her to Doheny State Beach on a foggy morning when she was just four years old.
“He was skeptical of going out because it was very cold and the fog was extremely thick,” Tilly recalled. “But I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.”
In addition to her surfing accomplishments, Tilly is a graduate of Bond University on Australia’s Gold Coast, where she studied sport management. She has since returned to Southern California to be closer to her family. She also co-hosts “The Double Up,” a weekly women-focused surf news podcast.
With this latest triumph, Tilly continues to inspire the next generation of surfers and further solidifies her legacy in longboard surfing.