Surfer Maya Gabeira goes from near drowning to riding a record 68-foot monster
DEATH-DEFYING surfer Maya Gabeira has written herself into the Guinness Book of Records after riding a 68-foot monster at the Nazare break which almost claimed her life five years ago.
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DEATH-DEFYING Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira has written herself into the Guinness Book of Records after riding a 68-foot monster at the infamous Nazare break which almost claimed her life five years ago.
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At the deepwater canyon where she was left with a shattered body and unconscious in the water in 2013 after a horror wipeout, the Rio surfer conquered a wave measuring 68 feet (20.72 metres) from trough to crest at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, on January 18.
Congratulations @MayaGabeira for making history as the @GWR Womenâs XXL Biggest Wave World Record holder. Video by Nuno Dias | #CatchThisWave pic.twitter.com/eJromAjMib
â World Surf League (@wsl) October 1, 2018
The 31-year-old’s feat has now been recognised by the World Surf League with Gabeira winning the inaugural women’s XXL Biggest Wave Award.
The feat has also been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records in the largest wave surfed unlimited (female) category.
“To set the world record has been a dream of mine for many years,” said Gabeira, who broke her shin and blacked out in the 2013 wipeout on a wave smaller than the 2018 monster she caught to ride into history.
“But of course, after the accident in Nazaré 2013 [when she was knocked unconscious and nearly drowned], it felt like a very distant dream.
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“It took a lot of work to have a season like last year, to be 100 per cent again; and to complete it with a Guinness World Records title is quite special.”
Her awards were announced at a special ceremony at the picturesque lighthouse at Praia do Norte.
The 2019 Big Wave Awards in April will now award two new categories: Women’s XXL Biggest Wave Award (where jet skis maybe be used) and the Women’s Biggest Paddle Award (wave caught with only arm power).