The Portuguese surfer Yolanda Hopkins won the event held this Sunday in Taghazout Bay, the first of the 2023 Qualifying Series (QS), which automatically guarantees the European title.
Yolanda Hopkins also sealed qualification for the 2023 Challenger Series circuit, where spots for the 2024 World Surf League circuit will be at stake.
On the last day of the competition, Portugal had three surfers among the four finalists, and in the first heat of the day, Carolina Mendes was defeated by Frenchwoman Pauline Ado, thus ending the Moroccan race in third place.
For her part, Yolanda Hopkins beat her compatriot Kika Veselko, who also finished third.
In the very even final, the Portuguese woman beat Pauline Ado by just 0.07 points -13.40 against 14.33-, thanks to the 7.0 points she achieved in one of the last waves, to seal her 10th consecutive victory on the Portuguese tour on the European QS Circuit.
Yolanda Hopkins had already won the QS3000 of Anglet, France, and the QS1000 of Newquay, United Kingdom, in 2022, so she secured the European title beforehand, with the QS1000 of Costa da Caparica still to be contested.
The Portuguese surfer, who succeeds her compatriot Teresa Bonvalot, now has more than 3,000 points ahead of the gala Pauline Ado. For her part, Kika Veseko remained in third place and Carolina Mendes rose from fifth to fourth.
Source: TSF
