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Brazilian Woman Sets Record Surfing Biggest Wave

by VOA News

   Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira has been credited with setting a world
   record for the largest-ever wave surfed by a female earlier this year.

   The 31-year-old Gabeira caught the 20.72 meter wave in January off the
   coast of Nazare, Portugal.

   The record was confirmed this week, and Gabeira was recognized for her
   achievement at a ceremony in Portugal.

   It is the first time a woman was recognized for a biggest wave award in
   a separate category, something Gabeira herself had lobbied for since
   2013.

   That year she was knocked off her board and nearly drowned attempting
   to catch a giant wave in Nazare.

   Some of the largest surfable waves in the world routinely form off the
   coast of Nazare each year. Scientists say a combination of weather
   conditions and underwater geological formations contribute to the
   phenomenon.