Maria Salgado crowned European Junior Champion
Portuguesa venceu o Pro Taghazout Bay, em Marrocos
Maria Salgado was crowned European Junior Champion of 2025 this Saturday. This feat was achieved after the 18-year-old Portuguese surfer triumphed at the Pro Taghazout Bay, the final stage of the 2025 European Pro Junior series of the World Surf League, which took place in Morocco.
The surfer from Santa Cruz arrived in Morocco in second place in the ranking, behind the Spaniard Carla Morera de la Vall, and needing a victory. The elimination of her rival in the semifinals opened the way for Salgado to attack the title. And in the final, the Portuguese surfer managed to achieve a victory thanks to an 8-point wave, which gave her a total of 14.33 points, against 12.33 from the Spaniard Sal Borelli, 8.87 from the Frenchwoman Clemence Schorsch and 7.24 from the Frenchwoman Lilou Rumiel.
The victory in this stage earned Maria Salgado the European Junior title, but also qualification for the World Surf League Junior World Championship, which will be held from January 11 to 18, 2026, in the Philippines. In this way, Maria Salgado repeats a feat that Teresa Bonvalot and Mafalda Lopes had already achieved for Portuguese women’s surfing.
Also noteworthy is the 13th place achieved by Lua Escudeiro, Teresa Pereira and Constância Simões in the Taghazout Bay Pro. In terms of ranking, Portugal placed two more surfers in the top 10, with Maria Dias in 6th place and Lua Escudeiro in 7th place overall.
In the men’s event, João Mendonça was the best Portuguese surfer and the only one to reach the final. After being one of the standouts in all rounds, the young surfer from the Algarve reached the final with the possibility of reaching the top of the rankings, needing to win the championship to achieve this feat. However, the 6.73 points he accumulated only earned him 4th place in a final won by the Spaniard Hans Odriozola.
Therefore, Portugal did not manage to qualify any surfer for the men’s Junior World Championship event, with Francisco Ordonhas, who arrived in Morocco as the reigning European junior champion, finishing the year in 4th place in the ranking and João Mendonça in 5th place.
In the Moroccan event, noteworthy finishes included Tiago Stock and Salvador Vala in 7th place and Miguel Lages and João Roque Pinho in 13th place.
+info: ANSURFISTAS.COM
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