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

This pretty French surfing champion has died in Australia at the age of 24.

The French Surfing Federation regretfully announced, with the permission of her family, the death of Poeti Norac, 24, a French longboard champion.

The federation added: “The surfing community has lost a family member, a beautiful person with a radiant smile, an artist on her big board and whose enthusiasm radiated in [the] Vendee [region] and everywhere else. A ceremony in tribute to Poeti will take place soon, the date and place of which we will communicate to you.”

The federation made the announcement on 4th February, although the circumstances of her death remain unclear. She reportedly died last weekend on 1st February.

The young woman had reportedly been living in Australia for a few months. She is said to have died on the Sunshine Coast in southern Queensland, near Brisbane.

She had become a major player in French surfing, finishing runner-up in the national championships in 2018 and third in 2016. The federation said: “Poeti took part in 4 national finals and boasted 10 French Cup victories, including the 100 percent girls one in 2017.”

She was also very committed to teaching young people how to surf. She received her BPJEPS (‘Brevet Professionnel de la Jeunesse, de l’Education Populaire et du Sport’; Professional Youth, Popular Education and Sport Certificate) Surf diploma at the age of 18.

She had learned to surf with her dad at the age of six in Les Sables d’Olonne, a seaside town in the Vendee department in western France, where she was from. She had first used a shortboard before switching to the longboard.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.