Alana Blanchard

Career

Alana Blanchard was first taught how to surf when she was just 4 years old by her father, Holt. Alana rode her first wave at Hanalei Pier in Kauai, then went on to compete for the first time when she was 9 years old. Blanchard took first place in shortboard at the 2005 T&C Women's Pipeline Championships. She has also won championships in the following: The Women's Pipeline Championships, Hawaii The Rip Curl Girls Festival Junior Pro, Spain The Roxy Pro Trials in Haleiwa, Hawaii The Billabong Pro Pre Trials in Hookipa, Maui The Volcom Pufferfish Surf Series in Pinetrees, Kauai. Beginning in 2004, Blanchard also established her professional relationship with Rip Curl swimwear, in which she designed and modeled, including a line of wetsuits. In 2020, Rip Curl ended their sponsorship which Blanchard believes was due to her becoming a mother. In a statement, Rip Curl denied that this was the reason blaming it on an inability for Rip Curl and Blanchard to agree to terms of a new deal.

Personal life In 2013, Blanchard began dating Australian pro surfer Jack Freestone after they met while on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. In June 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. The couple became engaged in June 2019 and wed sometime before 2024. Their second child was born in 2021.

She is a long time best friend and supporter of Bethany Hamilton and was present along with her father when Hamilton suffered the shark attack that cost her her left arm at age thirteen. In the 2011 film Soul Surfer, Blanchard was portrayed by Lorraine Nicholson.

Blanchard is a vegan.