As heavy rains, thunder and lightning unloaded over Oahu at approximately 4:30 a.m. today, local fans of Hawaiian pro surfer Carissa Moore tuned in online and watched her win the Roxy Pro France in sunny Hossegor, France.

In the gnarly, hollow, overhead waves in the shallow beach break of La Graviere, 27-year-old Moore locked into two long barrels and emerged victorious in the final heat against Florida-born Caroline Marks, 17, a fellow contender for a place on the USA surf team at the forthcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Moore, a three-time world champion and current leader as No. 1 in the World Surf League women’s title rankings, ruled the final bout with the elan and savoir-faire she earned in her two previous victories at Hossegor, pulling into a long forehand rightbreaking barrel for an 8.6 score out of a possible 10, and following it up with a backhand barrel that the judges rewarded with a 9, locking in her third French reign.

Husband Luke Untermann and coach Mitch Ross chaired Moore up the beach through a crowd of ecstatic fans.

“It’s been a pretty special year so far,” said Moore. “This was definitely a special event, being able to share it with my husband and Mitch Ross, I have an incredible team of people behind me, my family and friends, my sponsors and the fans who were incredible.”

France is stop No. 8 on the WSL women’s tour; the remaining two contests will be held in Portugal and at Honolua Bay, Maui, where Carissa has won three times, most recently with a perfect 10 score for a double-overhead barrel last year. This Roxy Pro victory marks the 23rd career contest win for Moore on the championship tour.

“It was so cool I’ve actually never spent much time surfing La Graviere,” she said. “I didn’t have any expectations and when I got those two barrels I was elated and to share it with the crowds that were just a few feet away from me was special.”