Algarve surfer secures 5th place in Tokyo

Algarve surfer, Yolanda Sequeira, today said she was “very happy” with fifth place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which she hopes can change her life, with support that will allow her to be among the best in the world.

“I’ve already received a diploma in the first Olympic Games from surfing and I’m very happy about it. I’m very competitive and I came with gold in mind, I didn’t come to do anything else. I ended up falling a little behind, but I’m very happy with my performance. I know my surf is enough to get me up there. It wasn’t this one, it will be the next one”, said the young woman from Algarve.

On Tsurigasaki beach, in Chiba, Yolanda, 23, scored 5.46 points (3.93 and 1.53) in the first heat of the quarter-finals, which were insufficient to beat South African Bianca Buitendag, which accounted for 9.5 (6 and 3.5).

“It was a little difficult in there, with the tide running out. The waves formed and broke soon. Bianca caught one that raised a bit of the wall and gave her the opportunity to do more than one manouvre,, which was what I lacked”, she said, after failing to take advantage of a priority of more than 10 minutes.

Yolanda gave thanks to all those who have supported her, even in her most basic survival needs, and has confidence that after this performance, the necessary support will be offered, allowing to reach a higher level in surfing.

“My coach (John Tranter) helped me a lot. I live in his house. He saw my potential. He is like my family. I have had a lot of difficulties in my life, times when it was even difficult to find money to eat”, she recalled.

The athlete, who so far has the best result in Portugal in Tokyo2020, along with judoka Catarina Costa (-48 kg), hopes that she may  now find a sponsor interested in supporting her, in a sustained way, with her career, which, so far, has been funded with the help of many donations from individuals who know her history.

“If I ever stopped surfing, it was for lack of money. I hope that after representing Portugal in this way I will have more opportunities to fulfill myself, do what I like and have concrete support behind me”, said the surfer born in Faro, confident that 50,000 euros will allow her to do “the minimum of the minimum” on the desired World Championship Tour.

Now that Tokyo2020 is over, her thoughts are already on Paris2024, on Teahupoo Beach, in Tahiti.

“I want to and I will qualify. I’m really excited about it and I’m going to train hard. I want to take my best ‘performance’ there”, she concluded.

In addition to Yolanda Sequeira, Portuguese surfing featured Teresa Bonvalot who was in ninth place. Frederico Morais, a medal candidate in the men’s sector, was infected by the new coronavirus and was a last-minute casualty in the Portuguese entourage.

Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/