A Brazilian surfer broke her previous world record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman, it is also the largest wave surfed by anyone this year.
Maya Gabeira, 33, was out on the ocean in Nazaré, Portugal, last February 11 when she came face-to-face with the 73.5ft wave, which she successfully rode all the way. Even though she achieved the accomplishment several months ago, it wasn’t until last week that the World Surf League announced she’d set a new world record.
Gabeira is no stranger to success, as she set the first women’s big-wave world record in 2018 when she rode a 68ft wave. This achievement, however, was twice as impressive, as the 73.5-foot wave was the biggest accomplished by any surfer in 2020.
Gabeira’s success earned her the women’s XXL Biggest Wave Award at the 2020 Red Bull Big Wave Awards, with the men’s XXL Biggest Wave Award going to Kai Lenny, who rode a 70ft wave.
Despite setting the previous world record, Gabeira admitted the win came as a surprise.
“What an unforgettable day. Beat my record, and still have the biggest wave of the year between men and women! I think it would have been unthinkable years ago.
But deep down, I had already dreamed of it!,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to my team … this is our achievement and you deserve it so much!!!! I never thought this could happen, still feels surreal. To have a woman in this position in a male-dominated sport is a dream come true! I am so proud of the women this year, phenomenal effort!”
The news of Gabeira’s win came after a long delay to the awards, which usually take place in a live event in May. But because of the coronavirus outbreak, the awards were given out weekly throughout the summer via social media.
When the time came to announce the winners for biggest wave, the World Surf League said the women’s race needed more judging because the two finalists, Gabeira and Justine Dupont, were ‘really, really close’.
Jessi Miley-Dyer, the league’s vice president of tours and competition, said in The Atlantic that with such a small margin between the waves it was ‘too close to call’ without further assessment.
After the win, Gabeira said in an interview with the World Surf League that she ‘didn’t expect to go any bigger’, but that she ‘just kept riding and enjoying [her] time’, adding that the monster wave was both ‘quite special’ and ‘terrifying’.