Brazilian-American professional surfer raised on Oahu's North Shore who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and reached the elite top 16 of the World Surf League.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 7 May 2004, Luana Coelho Silva grew up a short walk from Sunset Beach to Brazilian parents, blending fire and passion with the aloha spirit of the North Shore. She began surfing at age three and was a three-time USA and NSSA national champion as a junior, winning two Qualifying Series events in Australia in 2019 at just 15 years old. Silva's path to the elite tour was delayed by the 18-month pandemic postponement of competition, but she used the time to complete high school and refine her game at home in Hawaii, training under coach Kahea Hart. She made her Championship Tour rookie season in the early 2020s, establishing herself as a genuine threat on tour with wins over major names including Stephanie Gilmore and Caroline Marks. In 2022, Silva announced she would switch her competitive allegiance from the United States to Brazil, the nation of her parents' heritage, a move that opened a path to Olympic qualification given the depth of American talent. She competed for Brazil at the 2024 Paris Olympics surfing event in Tahiti. Silva continued to develop into one of the WSL's most consistent competitors through the mid-2020s, reaching a career-best world ranking of 12th in 2024 and finishing runner-up at the 2025 Bells Beach event before opening the 2026 season with a win over eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore.
A rapid rise to the elite top 16 of the World Surf League and competing for Brazil at the Olympics
How They Played
Fluid, powerful surfing well-suited to both beach breaks and reef passes
Lasting Impact
One of the leading young talents to emerge from Hawaii's North Shore in the 2020s