Marcio Freire, giant wave surfer, dies after falling into the sea of ​​Nazaré in Portugal

Updated at 23:45 p.m.

the baiano Marcio Freire He is considered a legend in giant wave surfing, as he was one of the first Brazilians to use this technique. He surfed walls in Jaws, Hawaii and Maui. 

View this photo on Instagram

A post shared by GOSSIP DO DIA (@gossipdodia)

“Rescuers found that the victim suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and immediately began resuscitation maneuvers on the sand (…) After several attempts, it was not possible to reverse the situation,” reported the National Maritime Authority.

According to the statement, the Brazilian was doing so-called towed surfing when he suffered the fall.

Pioneer

Marcio Freire He was a veteran of so-called XXL surfing. He lived for almost 20 years in Hawaii, an international surfing mecca.

He was part of the trio nicknamed “Mad Dogs” (Crazy Dogs), alongside fellow Bahians Danilo Couto and Yuri Soledade. 

In interviews, he even said that surfing never made money, as he sponsored himself.

The waves of Nazaré are known to Brazilian surfers, such as Peter Scooby, who always surfed there:

Big wave season

Every winter in Portugal, Praia do Norte is invaded by surfers, as it offers exceptional conditions for surfing giant waves, due to the geological phenomenon called “Nazaré canyon”.

It is a submarine fault 170 km long and 5 km deep, into which the swell of the Atlantic Ocean rushes before being pushed to the surface until it reaches the coast.

It was in Nazareth that the German Sebastian Steudtner broke the record for the biggest wave ever surfed, when he descended a 26,2 meter wall on October 29, 2020.

Several accidents have been recorded at the site since American Garett McNamara revealed it to the big wave surfing community in the early 2010s.

Tributes

After the death of the Bahian surfer was confirmed, professional colleagues, sports lovers and friends of Marcio Freire paid tribute on social media.

The three-time world champion Gabriel Medinpublished a photo of the athlete with “rest in peace, Márcio”.

italo Ferreira, gold in Tokyo-2020, mourned the death of Marcio and posted in her Instagram stories: “How sad.”

With information from AFP

See also:

How artificial intelligence can help endangered species

Researchers created an algorithm that, through artificial intelligence, analyzes species whose lack of information hindered the classification of extinction risk. Many of them, it seems, are in more danger than previously imagined.

Receive news and newsletters do Curto News by Telegram e WhatsApp.