Portuguese surfer Yolanda Hopkins won the event held this Sunday in Taghazout Bay, the first of the 2023 Qualifying Series (QS), automatically guaranteeing her the European title.
Yolanda Hopkins also sealed qualification for the 2023 Challenger Series circuit, where vacancies for the 2024 World Surf League circuit are on the line.
On the final day of the competition, Portugal had three surfers in the four finalists and in the first heat of the day Carolina Mendes was beaten by France’s Pauline Ado to finish the Moroccan race in third place.
On the other hand, Yolanda Hopkins triumphed in the next heat against compatriot Kika Veselko, who also finished third.
In the very balanced final, the Portuguese woman Pauline Ado triumphed by only 0.07 points – 13.40 against 14.33 – thanks to the 7.0 points she achieved in one of the last waves, sealing 10th place. QS circuit.
Yolanda Hopkins had already won the QS3000 in Anglet, France, and the QS1000 in Newquay, UK, in 2022, so she secured the European title in advance, when the QS1000 in Costa da Caparica is yet to be played.
The Portuguese surfer, who succeeds compatriot Teresa Bonvalot, now has more than 3,000 points ahead of the Gallic Pauline Ado. For its part, Kika Veseko remained in third place and Carolina Mendes moved up from fifth to fourth.
Source: DN
