Ellas Williams was born into a family of surfers in 1995, with her parents running a surf shop in Raglan Bay. She started surfing aged four, entered her first surfing competition when she was six, before moving to Whangamatā on the Coromandel Peninsula; another of New Zealand’s best surfing locations.

By 14 she was winning surf competitions, often defeating boys in her age group. In 2013 she received a late call up to the World Junior Championships in Brazil, and won the event, defeating Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb in the Final.

After her World Junior Title, Williams spent the next years surfing on the Qualifying Series trying to qualify for the CT, securing her best finish in the top 30 in 2015. In between her competitive travels, she worked at the family surf shop managed by her brother in Whangamatā.

In 2019 Williams earned her place in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo courtesy of her results in the ISA World Surfing Games. It’s a safe bet to say that all the Williams clan cheered her on and that the surf shop was a little understaffed.

Instagram: @ellaoliviawilliams