Michaela Fregonese: Brazil's big wave record holder

12.25 mBrazil women's record, May 2026 (not Nazaré)

Their story

Michaela Fregonese, from Curitiba in Brazil, has been part of women's big wave surfing for years, and Nazaré is one of the waves she keeps coming back to. She's one of three women followed in Tim Bonython's documentary about women taking on Praia do Norte, and she fits it all around running her own travel agency.

Her biggest results have come elsewhere. At the 2025 Big Wave Challenge awards in California she won both women's Ride of the Year and Biggest Wave. On 11 May 2026 she rode a 12.25 metre wave at Laje da Jagua in Santa Catarina, a spot known as "the Brazilian Nazaré". It's the biggest wave ever surfed by a woman in Brazil.

Best ride

Riding Nazaré, 2022

A Nazaré ride, 8 Nov 2022.

bigwavechallenge

More legends

Brazil

Carlos Burle

2013

Rode the St Jude storm swell

USA (Hawaii)

Katie McConnell

Hawaii-based charger at Praia do Norte

South Africa

Grant Baker (Twiggy)

2018

Won the Nazaré paddle event, Nov 2018

Tom Butler

100 ft?

The 2018 claim, never ratified

See the next one live.

One email when giant waves (10 m+) show up in the models, usually 5 to 7 days ahead.

Alert me when it's big

Photos: Luis Ascenso (header), CC BY 2.0; Carlos Eduardo Joos (wave photos 1, 2), CC BY 2.0; Walterpeitz (wave photos 1, 2), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.