This Saturday, June 5, Algarve surfer Yolanda Hopkins guaranteed her presence at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The athlete, who is also known as Yolanda Sequeira, achieved the much-desired presence at the Olympics, after having stamped a place in the World Surfing Championship that is taking place in El Salvador.
Born in Faro, Yolanda Hopkins is the daughter of a British mother and Portuguese father and has always lived in Portugal.
The surfer usually trains in the Sines area, where «there are all kinds of waves I can find in any championship: rock waves, tube waves, soft waves, hard waves, beach breaks, reef breaks, of everything», he explains.
The truth is that the Algarve goes to sea every day. “It doesn't matter if there are waves of 10 meters or 20 centimeters. I always find a place to surf. Besides, the training of a professional surfer is not just in the water. We also have physical and psychological training, which of course is out of the water», he explains.
When the pandemic broke out, Yolanda was in top form and now that the sport has returned, it's back on track with its presence at the Olympics.
It will even be the first time that an athlete born in the Algarve participates in the Olympic Games in surfing.
This year, the Olympics run from the 23rd of July to the 8th of August, after having been postponed last year due to Covid-19.
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