Marbella super surfer storms to silver in California World Adaptive Surfing Championships

Marbella’s Sarah Almagro grabs the silver in a blistering final weekend of competition in Oceanside, California.

Gold just a razor-thin margin away

Almagro claimed the runner-up spot at the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships 2026 whilst simultaneously topping the podium in the Prone 2 category, capping off a season that saw her dominate two of the year’s three AASP World Tour stops. Winning in Hawaii back in May and now triumphing again in Oceanside should have handed Almagro the overall world crown outright. Missing the March leg in Australia due to a lack of sponsorship funding, however, proved costly, leaving her just 50 points adrift of the eventual champion despite her superior form across the events she did contest.

A final decided by two perfect waves

Facing American Ashley Bunting, Australian Annie Goldsmith and French surfer Celine Rouillard in a technically demanding final, Almagro took control from the first opening minutes. Riding swells of between one and two metres over a 30-minute heat, she landed the two highest-scoring waves of the entire final to finish with a combined 11.16 points, nearly double Bunting’s 6.44 and well clear of Goldsmith’s 4.30.

Coaching support came from the Banana Team, with Nico Huercano of the Dreisog surf school and Puerto Rican bodyboarder Kuko Font guiding her technical preparation throughout the tournament.

Resilience brings a strong season to a close.

Almagro, an inspriration, who lost both hands and feet to meningococcal meningitis as a teenager, brings an impressive season to a close. Drawing 83 athletes from 18 countries to Oceanside Pier, this ninth edition of the U.S. Open marked the final stop on the AASP World Tour calendar for 2026. Almagro’s silver medal and Prone 2 gold just prove her reputation as one of the toughest competitors on the circuit, and with sponsorship secured, next year’s full campaign could finally deliver the world title that’s twice slipped out of reach.