A 24-year-old surfing champion has tragically died in Queensland just months after relocating to Australia.
The French Surfing Federation announced that Poeti Norac died on the Sunshine Coast last weekend, though the circumstances of her death remain unclear.
Norac was a French longboard champion and surf instructor.
She was a runner-up in the French surfing national championships in 2018 and came third in 2016.
“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,” the federation said in a statement.
“A ceremony in tribute to Poeti will take place soon, the date and place of which we will communicate to you.
“Poeti took part in four national finals and boasted 10 French Cup victories, including the 100 percent girls one in 2017.”
Norac’s biggest sponsor OXBOW Elle shared a tribute to the surfer in French on social media following news of her passing.
“It is with great sadness that we learned of the disappearance of our young ambassador Poéti Norac,” the company said in a statement.
“The youngest member of our family of ambassadors for over four years, Poéti had been moving to Australia for several months to perfect his English and ride the pretty Australian waves.
“Her father informed us of her disappearance last week on the Sunshine Coast, and it is in agreement with her family that we are publishing this terrible news today.
“More than an ambassador, we are losing a real member of the OXBOW family. It is with a heavy heart that we send to his loved ones and his many friends our deepest and deepest condolences. Her smile will forever be etched in our memories.”
