For the record, Joy Monahan did get on a plane to return home to Honolulu yesterday from France.

For the record books, she returned to a heroine's welcome as the first Hawai'i surfer to win the Women's World Longboard Championship.

"I still feel like I'm floating," she said. "I don't think my feet have touched the ground yet."

Monahan won the world title last Wednesday in Biarritz, France, and was greeted by family and friends at Honolulu International Airport yesterday.

"It's so nice to finally come home," said Monahan, 22. "I was gone for seven months. I can't wait to surf some good waves here."

Monahan is a 2003 graduate of Kaiser High who grew up in 'Aina Haina. She is currently a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, which makes her world title victory all the more impressive.

Her preparation for the world championship contest consisted of snowboarding, weightlifting and other cross-training techniques in the gym.

"That's the phenomenal part," said Mike Shimooka, who has been Monahan's coach since she was 12. "Who wins a surfing contest without practicing surfing?

"That shows how much she surfed with this," he said, pointing to his head.

The only surfing Monahan did prior to the contest was in the small waves off San Diego for two weeks. She stayed there with one of her sisters before leaving for France.

She said the brief practice paid off because the waves were "small and weak" off Biarritz during the week of the contest.

"The biggest part for me was preparing mentally," she said. "I just tried to stay confident with every heat, no matter what the conditions."

Interestingly, Monahan's first world title came under a new name. She was known as Joy Magelssen while winning numerous national titles as an amateur surfer.

"I think even the people who knew I got married took a while to realize I was going by my married name," she said.

Joy and Drew Monahan were married on Dec. 28, 2006.

Footage from their wedding can be seen in a commercial for Aloha Care health insurance.

"I was kind of embarrassed that they wanted to film it like that," she said. "But I guess it explains things now."

Her father, Mark Magelssen, said: "The thing I'm most happy about is how Joy has kept her priorities in order. She won this title while still pursuing her education and maintaining her family life."

And she will continue to do so for at least two more years. Two days after winning the world championship, Monahan learned that she had been accepted into BYU's accounting school.

She is scheduled to return to Provo in September.

Still, surfing has been Monahan's passion for the past decade. Her three sisters were also standout amateur surfers, but she is the only one who pursued professional competition.

"The first time I saw Joy surfing a longboard, she reminded me of Rell Sunn," Shimooka said. "She had that same style and grace."

Her father said: "They were all good surfers growing up, but Joy always had a little more drive to compete. I remember when she was around 3, we were playing the card game 'concentration' and she wanted to keep playing until she beat me ... and she did."

Monahan said Guy Takayama surfboards, Toes on the Nose, Da Kine and Honey Girl were the primary companies that helped sponsor her trip to France.

Her mother, Liane, accompanied her to France. Her father did not make the trip, but stayed up all night to follow the results on the Internet.

"I didn't get much sleep that week, but it was so much fun to follow her," he said.

Now, Monahan is on a short list of professional longboard champions from Hawai'i. The only men to win that title are Rusty Keaulana, Bonga Perkins and Dino Miranda.

The women's world championship contest started in 1999. All competitors in the event have to ride surfboards at least 9 feet long.

"There are some people who say, 'that's a great kid,' " Shimooka said. "Joy truly is a great kid. She's the perfect representative and role model for surfing and for Hawai'i."