A world surf championship ended in extraordinary scenes after a competitor tried to push an Australian from her board.
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During the under 18 women's ISA World Junior Championships in El Salvador, Portuguese surfer, Erica Maximo White tried to cut off Australian surfer Willow Hardy.
With 50 seconds left, Ms Maximo White repeatedly surfed into the path of Ms Hardy and attempted to push her rival off her board, shouted abuse and tried to grab the board leash.
Ms Hardy was in fourth place at the weekend heat on May 12 and needed a score of 2.4 to win with less than a minute remaining in the heat.
The four competitors included Ms Hardy, Costa Rican Rachel Aguero and Ms Maximo White and another Portuguese competitor Maria Salgado Green.
Ms Maximo White's unsportsmanlike attempts failed to thwart Ms Hardy's success.
The Australian, from Margaret River in WA, achieved a score of 2.7 and advanced to the next round with the Portuguese surfer disqualified.
Ms Maximo White took to social media to apologise for what was not her "brightest moment".
"I committed an interference on the Australian surfer's wave and in an unsportsmanship manner," she said.
"I just wanted to help my team but I recognise my mistake and I am here to apologise, especially to the Australian surfer, the Australian team and the ISA."
"I realised the repercussions of this incident and assure you all that something like this will never happen again," she said.
The Australian team was the overall winners taking home the World Junior Surfing Championships title for the first time in 11 years.
Jessica Belzycki
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
