Maya's psychological barriers were particularly problematic for her chosen career.
"I was lacking confidence to put myself in that situation again." Riding monsters "My body was hurting, but I had this huge fear of another accident," she explains. I just couldn't hit my stride."īut Maya also worried about what the wave had done to her mind. "Every operation would keep me away from the water for months. Maya overcame physical and mental trauma to return to surfing She had to have three operations to address the issue. The accident would cost the surfer four years of her career, as she learned that the "wipe-out" had also caused back injuries. "It was important to know what I had done wrong." Physical and mental scars "I wanted to see what had happened, because my memory of the accident stopped when I passed out," she continued. Soon after waking up, she asked to watch the video of the accident. Maya made her mind up while still lying on an intensive care unit bed at a Portuguese hospital. "I had to decide if I was going to try to keep surfing or if it was better to retire. "I was badly shaken and injured," she says. The Brazilian, 33, explains how she mounted such a comeback. Her latest mark was confirmed by Guinness World Records on 10 September - a 22.4m-high wave surfed on 11 February.Īs of 24 September, it is also the biggest wave surfed by anybody in 2020. That Maya Gabeira ever thought of going anywhere near a big wave again after the episode in 2013 is already remarkable.īut she went further than simply facing her fears: seven years after almost drowning, Maya has now twice set the world record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman. It took almost 10 minutes for Burle to get the Brazilian to the shore, where she had to be resuscitated with CPR. Repeated waves made the rescue even harder, despite Maya briefly regaining consciousness. The Brazilian was rescued by fellow surfer Carlos Burle, who was accompanying her - Burle was responsible for driving the jet-ski that towed Maya onto the wave. Praia do Norte beach in Nazare is famous for some of the world's biggest - and most dangerous - waves Revival The impact ripped Maya's lifejacket off her body, pushed her underwater and immediately broke one of her legs - it also knocked her unconscious. That's about the same weight as a blue whale, in case you're wondering. "I just thought: 'That's it, I am going to die,'" Maya explains during a phone conversation with the BBC.Ī YouTube video with over 500,000 views shows what happened next: a mass of water with an estimated weight of 144 tonnes pummelled the Brazilian. So, when the surfer heard the roar of the 20m-high monster collapsing ever closer behind her, she pretty much accepted her likely fate.
0 kommentar(er)
