France continued their dominance of the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC), today winning an unprecedented fifth Team World Championship. An incredible week of competition came to a close today in prime conditions at Surf City El Salvador’s iconic right point break of El Sunzal.
The only competitor to win two WLC gold medals in the Women’s division, Alice Lemoigne (FRA), broke her own record by adding a third, while Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente (PER) earned his second WLC gold medal to match his two Pan American Games gold medals and two WSL World Longboard Titles.
The tight battle for the team gold medal went all the way to the final moments, with the USA finishing just 15 points behind France to take the silver medal for the second year in a row. Peru matched their 2023 performance with another bronze medal, while the only team to win a medal in every WLC, Brazil, claimed their sixth copper.
France’s result was further boosted by a bronze medal for defending champion Edouard Delpero (FRA). It was his fifth individual WLC medal, moving him level with Clemente and Harley Ingleby (AUS) in equal second on the all-time list, behind only his older brother Antoine Delpero (FRA) with six. Lemoigne’s third gold, meanwhile, equals the record shared by Antoine Delpero and Marcelo Freitas (BRA).
Rounding out France’s team, newcomers Louis Marchiset (FRA) and Canelle Lebreton (FRA), each showcased incredible performances of their own. Marchiset held one of the highest heat totals of the event before being eliminated in Repechage 7 to place 7th overall, while Lebreton was forced to pull out due to injury after winning her first two Main Round heats.
Alice Lemoigne Claims Historic Third Title as Costa Rica and Puerto Rico Celebrate First Medals
Continuing her run of standout performances across the event, Alice Lemoigne (FRA) opened the Main Round Final with a solid 7.50, before adding an excellent 8.50 and 8.00 for a 16.50 heat total, the highest of the event in the women’s division. Delivering long, critical nose-rides mixed with powerful turns on waves that offered section after section through to the beach, the 30-year-old once again set the standard.
Lemoigne then navigated a slow start to the Grand Final by opening with a 6.00, putting herself in the driver’s seat while her three rivals faced a long wait to lock in their first scores. That move proved crucial, as the Réunion Islander held the lead throughout, building her scoreline with a 7.33 and a 7.40. A strong opening 7.17 carried current WSL Longboard Tour No. 1 Avalon Gall (USA) to the silver medal, matching her runner-up finish in the 2025 WSL World Longboard Title race. The result also secured Gall’s place at the Lima 2027 Pan American Games as the highest-placed US surfer. The remaining two Finalists, Lia Diaz (CRC) and Estorya Martinez (PUR), each earned their nation’s first-ever WLC medal: Diaz the bronze, and 14-year-old Martinez the copper in her very first WLC appearance. Both will also be heading to Lima 2027.
Despite being her third, the victory was no less emotional for Lemoigne who won her first gold medal at Côte des Basques in Biarritz, France in 2019, before claiming the first WLC to be held in Surf City El Salvador in 2023, along with the silver medal in 2025.
“I dreamed about this and I’ve worked for it for so many years, so it means so much to me,” Lemoigne said. “This one is the most important for me, because the sport is growing and the level is very high now, with such young girls surfing super well. When I was young I told my mum I wanted to be world champ. In 2019 I got my first gold and she said, ‘OK, you did it,’ and I said, ‘No, I want more.’ I love longboarding, and a wave like El Sunzal is dreamy, so I enjoyed every wave, every heat. I want to thank my family, Team France, the Federation, all my friends and my Réunion sponsors who are fully behind me. It’s because of you that I can follow this dream.”
Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente, Team Peru. Credit: ISA / Pablo Franco
Second ISA World Title Extends Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente’s Legacy Across Two Decades
An extremely high-scoring and star-studded men’s Grand Final was dominated by Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente (PER), who rose to the occasion by delivering the highest heat total of the event. All three former World Champions in the Final, Clemente, Tony Silvagni (USA), and Edouard Delpero (FRA), opened with large scores, but the Peruvian set the pace with an excellent 8.23. The highest single-wave score of the event soon followed, a 9.07, that featured Clemente’s signature hood-ornament hang-ten, along with a series of sharp rail turns that showcased smooth flow throughout. Silvagni and Delpero added excellence of their own, while Sam Christianson (RSA) continued to fight, but it was not enough to match Clemente’s massive total. The win also closes a chapter from 2023, when Clemente was forced out in the Semifinals due to an injury sustained in the shorebreak at El Sunzal.
The 2011 ISA World Longboard Champion, Silvagni, earned his fourth medal, to now hold one of each, the gold, silver, bronze, and copper. Delpero claimed his third bronze and fifth medal overall, while Christianson won the first WLC medal for South Africa since Simone Robb (RSA) and Thomas King (RSA) in the first standalone event in 2013.
Having won his WSL World Longboard Titles in 2013 and 2015, along with his first ISA and Pan American gold medals in 2019, second Pan American gold in 2023, and now second ISA gold in 2026, Clemente has showcased dominance in the sport across two decades. Also one of the most celebrated shapers in the industry, the 44-year-old continues to add to his legacy, especially as the win guaranteed his opportunity to defend his Pan American Games record, where he remains undefeated.
“I’m feeling really good. I worked hard for this event, and it’s my revenge. I searched for this for a long time and I prepared a lot for it, and the results came. I still can’t believe it,” Clemente said. “I’m very emotional, and I want to thank everyone. I know my angel has been helping me so much in this moment. My life has been reborn. I’m with an incredible family now, and the whole family I always come with stays united. Jayme is now part of our family and part of my life, and I’m very grateful to her for everything she has done for us too.”
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:
“This year’s World Longboard Championship has once again shown the beauty of longboarding and what it adds to the sport as a whole. The incredible waves of El Sunzal yet again gave us a stage worthy of the surfing on show, and it was wonderful to see Costa Rica and Puerto Rico win their first medals. I am very grateful to the government and people of El Salvador for another event delivered at the highest level, and to every team, volunteer and official who made it possible.
“Congratulations to France on their fifth team title and to all of our champions. Our work to bring Longboard Surfing to the Olympic Games continues, and this championship reminds us why it belongs there.”
RESULTS
Team
Gold – France
Silver – USA
Bronze – Peru
Copper – Brazil
Women
Gold – Alice Lemoigne (FRA)
Silver – Avalon Gall (USA)
Bronze – Lia Diaz (CRC)
Copper – Estorya Martinez (PUR)
Men
Gold – Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente (PER)
Silver – Tony Silvagni (USA)
Bronze – Edouard Delpero (FRA)
Copper – Sam Christianson (RSA)
LIMA 2027 PAN AMERICAN GAMES QUALIFIERS
Women
Avalon Gall (USA)
Lia Diaz (CRC)
Estorya Martinez (PUR)
Chloe Calmon (BRA) (provisional)
Men
Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente (PER)
Tony Silvagni (USA)
Alexandre Escobar (BRA)
Jonathan Melendres (MEX)
Surfiel Gil (ARG) (provisional)