Justine Dupont has ridden one of the biggest and deepest barrels of her life at Jaws, in Maui, Hawaii.
On January 16, 2021, the French big wave surfer took off on a humungous blue mountain of water and drew the best possible line.
What happened next defied some of the best performances ever seen in women's surfing.
Dupont saw a huge, heavy, and hollow section of the wave falling in front of her, kept her composure, and got inside the roaring tube.
The people in the channel held their breath for a couple of seconds, but soon after, the French daredevil came firing off the pit, unscathed and with her hair still dry and combed.
"I decided to travel to Maui for this swell because I wanted to get a great barrel at Jaws," explained Dupont.
"Many thanks to Tyler Larronde, Othmane Choufani, and Fred David for telling me 1,000 times that I was going to get a barrel."
The French got on a plane in California after surfing Mavericks to get the most out of this powerful northwest swell.
Wave of the Year?
Ride of the year? Best barrel of the season? The year has just started, and it's time to put things into perspective, as winter is still in full effect in the Northern Hemisphere.
Justine Dupont has been chasing the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed by a female athlete.
On November 13, 2019, Dupont surfed a wave estimated at 65-68 feet tall in Nazaré.
However, and according to the World Surf League (WSL), it wasn't enough to dethrone Maya Gabeira's 68-foot world record wave.
The French felt defrauded and questioned WSL's criteria and evaluation.
Justine Dupont's ride at Jaws is - from a technical standpoint - a more difficult and challenging performance compared to her 2018 Nazaré wave.
And there haven't been male and female surfers getting that deep inside a barrel at Jaws, one of the heaviest waves on the planet.