Wendy Botha

Born: 1965
From: East London, South Africa
Known for: Set record with winning 7 times in 1989 (single season record)

Biography

Wendy was born in East London, South Africa in 1965. Wendy began surfing at the age of 13 years old. Botha won 4 consecutive South African National Championship titles from 1981 through 1984. After this, she turned pro in 1985 and ended that season ranked 7th in the world. This made her rookie of the year. Wendy Botha is a 4 time world champion (1987, 1989, 1991, 1992) with a regular foot stance. In 1987, she won the 1st 3 events and got her 1st world title. Wendy became an Australian citizen in 1989 to keep surfing without sanctions. South Africa had sanctions on activities for athletes in the country. This move proved to be useful for her career. That same year Botha went on to claim her second surfing title. Botha is known for her risky style which caused her to have 4 knee surgeries during her career. She still managed to have some amazing victories despite this. Wendy Botha finally retired in 1993 and moved to New Zealand with her new husband.

Wendy had an eventful life outside of surfing. She posed for various magazines that stirred up controversy in the surfing world. She was featured in the documentary called "Surfer Girl". The documentary was about 5 female pro surfers. The other surfers in the movie were Freida Zamba, Debbie Beachman, Pam Burridge, and Jodie Cooper. These women were all in their peak in the 1980s. Between the 5 of them, there are 10 world championship titles. These women talk about the trials and tribulations of being a pro female surfer. The odds were stacked up against these women including Botha and they all succeeded.

Read more about women surfers.