It’s official. Maya Gabeira’s 73.5-foot monster wave at Nazare wasn’t just the biggest ever surfed by a woman, it was also the largest wave surfed by anyone — man or woman — in the world this year.
In the crowning moment of an incredible career, the 33-year-old Brazilian charged down the face of a giant wall of water at the same beach in Portugal where she nearly drowned in 2013.
“If there’s one thing I’ll never forget about this wave, it’s the noise it made when it broke behind me,” Gabeira said. “It was scary.”
The giant swell in February saw a number of incredible rides, but after analysis by teams from the University of Southern California, WaveCo Science Team and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Gabeira’s was measured as the biggest — bettering the world record she set in January, 2018.
Hawaii’s Kai Lenny, rode a 70-foot wave at the same event. The men’s record stands at 80-feet.
“To have a woman in this position in a male-dominated sport is a dream come true!” Gabeira posted online.
“I think it would have been unthinkable years ago. But deep down, I had already dreamt of it!”
It completed a remarkable turnaround after she nearly lost her life during a heavy wipe-out seven years ago.
Gabeira stopped breathing but was revived with CPR and rushed to hospital with a broken leg. She also required three operations on her spine.
“I realised that the worst that would ever happen to me in the ocean was about to happen,” she told The Times last year. “I suffered a lot through those minutes, slowly losing consciousness. I thought about never seeing my family again. Then I found peace. I accepted death.”
Gabeira started surfing in her early teens in Rio de Janeiro but was inspired to go pro while living in Australia as a 17-year-old.
She quickly emerged as the world’s best female big wave surfer and has racked up countless trophies at the Big Wave Awards.