Big-wave is the unruly cousin – less commercial, more extreme. They are heavily outnumbered by men: there are close to 100 male professionals.īig-wave surfing is a separate discipline from regular surfing, which attracts more eyeballs, will soon join the Olympics and is headlined by household names like Stephanie Gilmore and Kelly Slater. Gabeira, who learn ed to surf growing up in Rio de Janeiro, is among the world’s best female big-wave riders, along with Dupont, the Hawaiians Kennelly and Paige Alms, San Franciscan Bianca Valenti, and fellow Brazilian Andrea Moller. For years they have been navigating a sea of unequal pay, limited opportunities and media objectification, fighting for the chance to make a career out of doing what they love. It represents the latest achievement for the small, steely pack of female athletes battling to claim their place in the line-ups at the world’s most tempestuous surf breaks. “Whether it was super talked about or not in the surfing community, it’s still going to move the needle forward.” “It’s a huge accomplishment for Maya and great for the sport,” says Keala Kennelly, a 42-year-old matriarch of big-wave surfing and a trailblazer for female riders. Yet its significance shouldn’t be downplayed. Riding high: Maya Gabeira surfing in Nazaré, Portugal, where last season she rode the biggest wave of any surfer – male or female. Mainstream international press seemed far more interested than surf media, a tight bundle of publications that tend to heavily favour men’s coverage. That’s when the headlines rolled in – to an extent. Difficulties with judging the wave’s height (a common issue in the sport, given the inexact science involved) and a comparable-sized ride that same day by Frenchwoman Justine Dupont, meant Gabeira’s record was only confirmed months later, on 10 September. She has a broad smile and a raspy, sun-baked voice a rack of surfboards sits behind her. The 33-year-old is speaking from her home in Nazaré, a fishing village north of Lisbon. “Oh, there was no aftermath,” Gabeira says, laughing wryly. That it happened in big-wave surfing, one of the most macho, testosterone-fuelled sports on the planet, is stunning.Įven so, the surf industry’s reaction to the ride was more ripple than tsunami. The triumph of a female athlete in any open competition – something occasionally seen in ultra-marathon running or endurance swimming – is significant. Watching footage of the ride, part of the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, induces goosebumps and gritted teeth: the 5ft 5in surfer, a crouching speck, slices through a wall of water the height of a seven-storey building white horses gallop at her heels as the wave crashes violently behind her.
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