Bittersweet dawn for Portuguese surfing in Tokyo. The Algarve’s Yolanda Sequeira qualified for the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games by beating French Johanne Defay, second in the world hierarchy, in the round of 16.
The 23-year-old surfer finished with 10.84 points, surpassing the Frenchwoman’s 9.4, and thus ensured her presence among the top eight and an Olympic diploma. Yolanda Sequeira now has a meeting with South African Bianca Buitendag in the early hours of Wednesday (1.24 in Lisbon, 9.24 in Tokyo).
Lesser luck had Teresa Bonvalot. The 7.5 points achieved were insufficient to beat Brazilian Silvana Lima (12.17) and left the 21-year-old surfer in ninth place in the race.
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