Johanne Defay
Johanne Defay is a French professional surfer. She was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne, France. She began surfing at the age of 8 off the beaches of Reunion Island, 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 she almost gave up competing. Finding it difficult to step up from the juniors to the WQS and then when the economy crashed sending surf companies pulling sponsorships, Johanne found herself without sponsors and without decent results. With her parents’ encouragement Johanne was able to qualify for the WCT within two years.
| Johanne Defay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 19 November 1993 Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne, France |
| Residence | La Réunion, Overseas department, France |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 132 lb (60 kg) |
| Surfing career | |
| Best year | 5th – 2016 |
| Sponsors | Wakanda, GoPro Cameras, Smith Optics, Superdry Surf Company, Smoothstar Skateboards, Tim Spirit, Seventyone Percent Skincare |
| Major achievements | Champion of the Vans US Open of Surfing 2015 and Fiji Women's Pro 2016 |
| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Natural (regular) foot |
| Shaper(s) | Channel Islands |
She has won three World Surf League events, the Vans US Open of Surfing 2015, the Fiji Women's Pro 2016 and the Uluwatu CT 2018.
Competitive highlights
- 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