A year ago, a steep wave slammed the intrepid 75-year-old into the shore at a Cape Town beach, breaking her neck.
“Whether you are an able-bodied surfer or somebody with a disability, whether it’s your tenth time surfing or your very first, that joy and that stoke is the same,” she said.People with disabilities have been surfing for decades, but it wasn’t until the International Surfing Association started the first adaptive surfing world championship in 2015 that the sport began building momentum.“Competition always advances a sport,” said Ant Smyth, who captained the South African team at the 2015 games.
“I would surf on the end of my bed looking at that picture,” remembered Smyth, now 48. “I would kneel down and pray, ‘I want to be a world champion like Shaun Tomson’.” “If we do our job right and get people into the surf often and regularly, you will find talented people who have the drive to compete,” he said.– Steep learning curve –