Maya Gabeira

Maya Reis Gabeira (born April 10, 1987) is a Brazilian big wave surfer. She is most known for having surfed a 68 ft high (20,8mts) wave in Nazare, Portugal on January 2018, recorded by Guinness World Records as the biggest wave ever surfed by a female surfer.[1][2].

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Reis and the second or paternal family name is Gabeira.
Maya Gabeira
Gabeira in Washington D.C in 2014
Personal information
BornMaya Reis Gabeira
(1987-04-10) April 10, 1987
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
ResidencePortugal
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight124 lb (56 kg)
Surfing career
Major achievementsBillabong XXL Global Big Wave Award (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012)
ESPY Award (Best Female Action Sports Athlete (2009)
Teen Choice Awards 2010

Gabeira has received numerous accolades including the ESPY award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete and is considered one of the best female surfers in the world as well as one of most influential female surfers of all time[3][4][5].

Career

Maya started surfing at age 14 in Rio de Janeiro and started competing at 15 years old. In 2004 she decided to become a professional at 17 while living in Australia and moved to Hawaii that same year to surf world class waves.

She quickly emerged as the world's top female big-wave surfer, winning global championships surfing challenging spots like Mavericks, Waimea, Todos Santos, and South Africa's shark-infested "Dungeons".

She has won the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards for four consecutive times (2007 to 2010) in the Best Female Performance category

In 2008, she became the first woman to surf the Alaskan Sea.[6] Gabeira also became the first woman to surf California's Ghost Trees and Tahiti's Teahupoo[7].

In 2009, Gabeira won the ESPY award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete. Later that year, Gabeira surfed the biggest wave ever by a female when she successfully rode a 14 metres (46 ft) wave at Dungeons, a big-wave surf spot in South Africa.

In 2010, she got the 2010 Teen Choice Award for Best Female Action Sports Star[8][9].

In 2012, she was awarded the XXL Big Wave Awards for Girls Best Overall Performance for the 5th time. She also appeared in the ESPN The Body Issue that same year[10].

On October 28, 2013, Gabeira lost consciousness and nearly drowned while surfing a massive wave at Praia do Norte, Nazareé, Portugal; she was saved by her fellow Brazilian big-wave surfer Carlos Burle. She had to be revived on the beach and later ended up in the hospital.[11][12]

In 2016 the documentary Return to Nazaré by Red Bull TV shows how Maya Gabeira returns to Nazaré after having suffered the terrible accident surfing on the same beach in 2013. It is the portrait of a struggle to overcome obstacles, both physical and mental[13].

In January 2018 Gabeira surfed a 68 ft high (20,8mts) wave in Nazare, PT, recorded by Guinness World Records as the biggest wave surfed by a female surfer.[1][2]

Gabeira has been nominated twice for the Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year in 2014 and in 2019.

She is one of the highest paid female big wave surfers on the planet[7]. Gabeira is sponsored by Billabong and Red bull and currently lives in North Shore (Oahu) in Hawaii in the United States[7].

Personal life

Gabeira is the daughter of Fernando Gabeira, one of the founding members of the Green Party of Brazil. Her father is the son of Lebanese immigrants[14][15] and is a former member of a guerrilla group responsible for the kidnapping of the US Ambassador in Brazil, Charles Elbrick, in 1969[16]. He later wrote an award winning book about the incident which was turned into the Academy Award nominated film Four Days in September. Her mother, Yamê Reis, is a famous Brazilian fashion designer.

From 2010 to 2013, the Brazilian was in a relationship with the Australian actor Jesse Spencer[7].

References
  1. "Female surfer sets new world record". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  2. "68-ft wave surfed by Maya Gabeira confirmed as largest ridden by a woman as she receives two awards". Guinness World Records. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  3. Holmes, Layne (2020). "The 10 Best Female Surfers in the World". Howtheyplay.
  4. Lazzeretti, Craig (2020). "Best Women Surfers in the World". Stadiumtalk.com.
  5. "The most influential female surfers of all time". Surfertoday.
  6. "Maya Gabeira é a primeira surfista a encarar Mar do Alasca". Revista Ragga
  7. "Maya Gabeira: 35 little-known facts about the Brazilian big wave surfer". Surfertoday.com.
  9. Transworld Surf Maya Gabeira Rides The Biggest Wave Ever By A Woman
  10. "Maya Gabeira ... naked". ESPN.com. 2012.
  11. Paul Hamilos, "Surfers in Portugal ride towering waves whipped up by storm", The Guardian, October 29, 2013.
  12. "Maya Gabeira gives thumbs up after near-drowning experience", Surfer Today, October 28, 2013.
  13. Lewis, Andrew (2016). "A new Red Bull TV documentary follows the Brazilian's two-year fight to return to Praia do Norte".
  14. Revista IstoÉ. "istoe.com.br/um-homem-do-presente/". 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  15. "Review of Atlas du Liban: territoires et société, edited by Éric Verdeil, Ghaleb Faour and Sébastien Velut, french-lebanese edition by IFPO (Institut Français du Proche-Orient) and CNRS Liban (Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique – Liban) Beirut, 2007". 2007. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2010-05-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Maya Gabeira - Professional X Games Athlete Profile Maya Gabeira
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