Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport 

Brazilian surfing champion Leo Neves has died after suffering a heart attack while surfing at a competition.

Former surfing champion Neves, 40, died during the Triple Crown Saquarema tournament held between 23rd and 24th November at the Itauna beach in the municipality of Saquarema located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

Local media report the 40-year-old was surfing when he suffered the heart attack. Emergency services rushed into the water to aid him but he was pronounced dead before arriving at a nearby hospital in Bacaxa.

According to Brazilian media outlet ‘waves.com’ the fatal heart attack happened after he finished a riding a wave during a semi-final of the competition.

After surfing the wave, Neves reportedly had to paddle over several waves to return to the area where he could catch larger waves which left him exhausted and caused the subsequent sudden cardiac arrest.

Neves is a two-time Brazilian national surfing champion winning the SuperSurf tournament in 2002 and 2003. He competed in the 2007 and 2008 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour.

He started surfing at the age of six and began competing as an amateur at the age of ten. Neves will be buried at Barrinha which is a popular surfing spot in Saquarema.

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