Lizzie Welborn is a professional Surf Ironwoman from Sydney, Australia. She is one of the most accomplished young athletes that surf sport has seen in recent times.
Lizzie qualified for her first professional series when she was just 16, making her one of the youngest competitors to ever qualify. As a young athlete, Lizzie achieved results that take many athletes a lifetime to accomplish. Lizzie has now competed in 8 professional series, placing 2nd in both professional series for 2022/23, the Nutri-Grain Series and the Summer of Surf Series. Alongside the series racing Lizzie has also represented Australia in the sport on multiple occasions. Lizzie’s eyes are still set on claiming a professional series title, as well as winning an open Australian ironwoman and board title. Outside of surf sports Lizzie has also competed in many prone paddlebaording races around the world, including the gruelling 52km Molokai 2 Oahu world paddleboard championships in Hawaii.
Lizzie is known for her hard work and dedication to the sport, never being too busy to devote time to coaching nippers, supporting other competitors or chatting with fans on the beach. She is already widely regarded as a positive role model in and out of the surf. One of her greatest passions is to help empower the next generation of female athletes to reach their potential in sport. Alongside best friend and ironwoman Harriet Brown, they have created KaMana Community. Here, young female athletes have access to workshops where they can hear stories and learn about the many struggles female athletes may face and how to navigate them. This includes, body image, nutrition and menstrual health in sport, all topics that are not spoken about enough.
Outside of competing, Lizzie is currently studying environmental science at Sydney University. She is extremely passionate about protecting our precious oceans. She is a strong advocate for environmental action within the sport and her community, with plastic pollution in the ocean being her biggest concern. She strives to make society more aware of plastic pollution, educating them on ways to save the ocean and beaches we are so lucky to enjoy. She has recently launched a sustainability program at her Surf Club, Newport SLSC, which positions Newport as leaders of sustainability in the surf sports community. You can find out more about this here: www.newportslscsustainability.com
