Johanne Defay (born 19 November 1993) is a
French professional
surfer. She was born in
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France.
Located near the rive ...
in the
Auvergne region of France. She
qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games where she won bronze.
She began surfing at the age of 8 off the beaches of
Reunion Island
Reunion may refer to:
* Class reunion
* Family reunion
Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to:
Places
* Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean
* Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...
, which is her home today. After Johanne's first competition when she was only ten years old, she quickly moved through the European amateur ranks to eventually take on the WSL World Qualifying Series. In 2008 Defay almost gave up competing. She was finding it difficult to transition from the juniors to the WQS and then the economy crashed causing many surf companies cancel their sponsorships. At that time, Johanne found herself without sponsors and also without decent results. However, with her parents’ encouragement, Johanne was able to qualify for the World Championship Tour within two years.
She has won five
World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The WSL was originally known as International Professional Surfing ( ...
events, the
Vans US Open of Surfing 2015, the
Fiji Women's Pro 2016,
Uluwatu CT 2018, the
Jeep Surf Ranch Pro 2021 and the
Quiksilver/ROXY Pro G-Land 2022.
Competitive highlights
* 2024 Bronze Medal Olympics - Paris (Tahiti)
* 2016 WSL 2016 Rank: 5
* 2016 1st Fiji Women's Pro – Fiji
* 2016 3rd Roxy Pro Gold Coast – Australia
* 2015 8th World Championship Tour
* 2015 3rd Fiji Women's Pro – Fiji
* 2015 5th Rip Curl Pro Bell's Beach – Australia
* 2015 1st Vans US Open of Surfing – California
* 2015 5th Cascais Women's Pro – Portugal
* 2015 5th Roxy Pro – France
* 2014 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – 8th on Final Ranking
* 2014 3rd Swatch Women's Pro – California
* 2014 3rd Roxy Pro – France
* 2014 5th Fiji Women's Pro – Fiji
* 2014 5th Vans US Open of Surfing – California
* 2014 5th Cascais Women's Pro – Portugal
* 2014 5th Target Maui Pro – Hawaii
* 2013 3rd Junior World Championship Florianopolis – Brazil
* 2013 1st France Champion Brétignolles sur Mer – France
* 2013 1st Pontevedra Junior Pro Surf – Spain
* 2013 Open European Champion
* 2013 Junior European Champion
* 2013 Finalist of the 6 stars WQS Swatch Girls Pro – France
* 2013 1st Swatch Girls Junior Pro – France
* 2013 1st Soöruz Junior Pro – France
* 2013 1st Gijòn Junior Pro – Spain
* 2013 2nd O’Neil Junior Pro – Spain
* 2013 1st Soöruz Junior Pro – France
* 2013 4th Coupe de France – France
Career victories
WSL World Championship Tour
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Defay, Johanne
1993 births
Emlyon Business School alumni
Living people
French surfers
Sportspeople from Le Puy-en-Velay
World Surf League surfers
Olympic surfers for France
Surfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Sportswomen from Réunion
French female surfers
Surfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for France
Olympic medalists in surfing
21st-century French sportswomen