Born in Faro, Portugal, Yolanda Sequeira is the daughter of a British mother and Portuguese father. Whilst the diminutive surfer is still based in the Algarve, she does most of her surfing and training on Portugal’s west coast near the town of Sines.

Sequeira, who competed under her mother’s name Hopkins during her junior career, first came to national attention in 2019. Having teamed with coach John Tranter, she won the Portugal National Titles, as well as the Boardmasters Roxy Open at Fistral.

A strong start to the QS in 2020 however was curtailed by the pandemic. While she did put in some good performances in the Europe Countdown Series events, she had to wait to kickstart her ultimate goal of qualifying for the CT.

In a further boost to her fledgling career, in 2021 she came from nowhere to secure an Olympic spot for the Tokyo Games through her performances at the ISA Games in El Salvador. With an aggressive, powerful style and total commitment to the sport, Sequeira is the latest line of Portuguese surfers set to make their mark on the world stage.

Instagram: @yo_surf