Avenger of the Week | Maya Gabeira, Pro Surfer
Big-wave surfer and GenderAvenger’s Avenger of the Week, Maya Gabeira, holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for surfing the highest wave ever by a woman at 73.5 feet. She accomplished this feat off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal in February during the World Surfing League (WSL) 2019-2020 winter season. The numbers show that she also surfed the highest wave anyone, man or woman, surfed during the season, a first for a woman professional.
photo credit: Luis Ascenso
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Gabeira liked ballet, tap, and other types of dance as a child. She didn’t try surfing until she was 14 and hasn’t stopped since, moving to Hawaii at 17 to hone her surfing skills while she worked as a waitress until she became a professional surfer. She has literally surfed the world from Alaska to Tahiti to South Africa, winning many prizes along the way, including the Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY, the Teen Choice Award for Best Female Sports Star, and multiple Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. Now 33, her latest record broke her own 2018 Guinness record of 65 feet. Nazaré, where a large canyon on the ocean floor creates monster waves, was also the scene of Gabeira’s wipeout in 2013, which left her unconscious with her calf bone broken in half. Undaunted, she moved to Nazaré two years later to surf those super waves again. Her courage has obviously paid off.
Describing this year’s record ride where she was the only woman competing in the men’s field of the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, the 33-year-old Gabeira said, “I was in the zone. More brave than I am usually. I got really close to disaster.”
Paige Alms, 32, who is among the world’s best big wave surfers, said of Gabeira’s triumph, “I think it’s really important for the next generation of girls growing up to see women accomplishing these things. You can only really dream as big as what you can see.”
We salute our Avenger of the Week for surfing the highest wave of any human being in the WSL winter season. You’re incredible, Maya!
Let's hear it for Avenger Maya Gabeira!
Maya Gabeira, pro surfer, is @GenderAvenger’s #AvengerOfTheWeek! How could she not be? She broke the Guinness Book record in February for surfing the highest wave ever by a woman at 73.5 feet. You’re incredible, Maya! #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-maya-gabeira