The ceremony of the " Big Waves Awards " - organized by the WSL (International Surfing Federation) - rewards every year the surfers who have surfed the biggest waves in the world. As he went on stage to collect his trophy in the category of the biggest wave surfed in 2018 (Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave), the Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa also learned that he had just set a new world record!
Indeed, on November 8, 2017, the 38-year-old surfer tamed the famous wave of Nazaré in Portugal. The WSL jury concluded that the size of this monstrous wave was 80 feet (24.38 meters), allowing him to beat Garrett McNamara's record, set in 2011 on a wave of 78 feet (23.77 meters).
A great performance for the man who was struggling to shine alongside his rivals and who almost lost his life on this same wave in 2014. " I found myself in a bad situation in 2014, I almost died there (NDRL: in Nazaré). I had bad dreams and I lost my courage. For more than a year after the accident, I was scared, I stopped going in the big waves." explains the surfer.
But after a year, he started riding waves again, training with friends, starting with small waves, then medium ones, and regaining confidence. He, who had lost everything, starting with his sponsors, was able to work on him, especially thanks to the help of his wife, a psychologist, and his faith in God. A beautiful revenge then..
