Teahupo’o. For those who live the world of surfing, this name is not just a place on the map of French Polynesia. It is a meter of judgment, a thrill along the back, the Personification of the perfect and terrifying wave. It is here, among the legends of this mythological sport, that this year a protagonist overlooks the age of those who go to middle schools and the calm of those who, in that sea, were born. His name is Keila Mehani Gallina, he is about to turn 13 and his debut in the World Surf League It is already a record: Nobody ever went down in such young water.
Keila Gallina, born and raised in the waves
Keila’s talent is not built at the table, but was born and raised spontaneously on the island of Tahiti. Daughter of a Hawaiian father, Ryan, and a Tahitian motherhas an almost instinctive bond with the sea, so much so that his Instagram profile is called, simply, @Missteahupoo. He started surfing at four years, following his paternal passion. It has never been an obligation for her, but a daily game. “It is always fun for me”told in a recent Interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. “I have many friends who survive every day, so I’m with them, all day, every day”. An approach that has allowed her to develop exceptional confidence with water.
The challenge to the world champions
Now, however, the game becomes serious. Winning the local trialsKeila has earned a place in the main competition scoreboard, where it will face world -class athletes such as The current number one, the Australian Molly Picklumand the American star Likey Peterson. It will compete on waves that can reach seven meters, water walls that are downloaded with impressive power on a shallow coral reef. An arena that for fifteen years has been skipped by the female circuit and which now sees its youngest protagonist ever.
The objectives in the surf of Keila Gallina
Despite the pressure, Keila Gallina maintains remarkable calm. Her reaction to historical qualification describes it with great naturalness: «I am quite surprised. I knew it would happen, but not so soon. And then I can’t wait “confessed to Guardian. His enthusiasm transforms the tension into adrenaline and the expectation in the desire to test himself. The goal, moreover, is already clear and defined: “I want to enter the world tour in the coming years”.
A wave in Teahupo’o breaks on the coral reef (AP photo/Daniel Cole)
The surfing, the family, the race
Behind this goal there is the constant support of the family. Father Ryan, while admitting a logical concern (“We pray that the waves are not too high”), lives the success of his daughter as part of a bigger path. For hen, surfing is above all a lifestyle. And it is precisely the father who read the situation with acumen, underlining how the real pressure is not on Keila: «It is the biggest disadvantaged ever. You don’t want to lose against a 12 -year -old girl “. A perspective that transforms the small Miss Teahupo’o into an unknown capable of surprising the greatest champions.
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