There is no wave she does not face: Justine Dupont is not only one of the most successful female surfers in France, but also world record holder in Big Wave Surfing.
Record holder Justine Dupont
When it comes to surf spots with the highest waves, many people immediately think of the coasts of Australia or Hawaii. However, the world records in Big Wave Surfing are set in Nazaré, Portugal. And the female record holder is Justine Dupont.
The French woman stood on a surfboard for the first time when she was eleven. After her first national successes, she surfed to the top of the world in a very short time: in 2007 - at the age of only 15 - she crowned herself vice world champion at the World Longboard Championships in Biarritz, France. In the following years, Dupont took part in numerous international surf competitions. She has repeatedly stood on the podium in individual competitions as well as with the French team. And the 28-year-old is not only one of the best in surfing, she also achieved top rankings in Stand Up Paddling.
High, higher, Nazaré
On the water, Justine Dupont prefers to rise high. So she quickly discovered big wave surfing for herself. In this discipline, the aim is to ride the highest possible waves - the minimum height is an impressive 6.2 metres. One of the places where there are such monster waves is Belharra on the French Atlantic coast. There, Dupont was the first woman to conquer a wave about 15 meters high not only once, but shortly afterwards also a second time. But the absolute highlight of her career so far was reached by the courageous surfer on 13 November 2019. On that day, she stood in a wave in Nazaré more than 20 metres high, setting a new world record. The particularly high waves in Nazaré, which can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h, are created by an underwater canyon that is up to 5000 metres deep and 200 metres wide.
But the top athlete is not resting on her laurels. She recently competed in the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge and won the "Wave of the Day" award for riding a wave almost 17 meters high. Her next goal is to qualify for the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, where surfing is an Olympic discipline for the first time. At the latest since Nazaré's Big Wave it is clear: Justine Dupont will continue to ride the wave of success in the future.
