She tackled the 20.7 metre wave in Portugal in January. Gabeira rode the massive wave in the legendary surfing spot off Praia do Norte in Nazaré.
The achievement was announced by the World Surf League on Monday.
Speaking this week at a public ceremony held for the presentation of the Big Wave Tour – Nazaré Challenge 2018 at the São Miguel Arcanjo fortress in Nazaré, Gabeira said the accolade “means a lot to me”.
“I have always dreamed about being able to say that I surfed the biggest wave a woman has ever surfed. It was always a dream”, she revealed.
It was an even bigger personal achievement for Gabeira given that in 2013 she suffered a serious accident while surfing big waves in Nazaré, which took years for her to overcome, physically and mentally.
“My story with Nazaré didn’t start in the best way. It took me many years to come back and to be able to reach this objective, after a great period in which I didn’t even know if I would surf again in high performance”, she said.
Maya added that she was only able to overcome the surgeries and traumas with the “motivation and desire” to see her dream accomplished.
Previously undiscovered, Nazaré was catapulted onto the world’s big wave surfing map after US surfer Garrett McNamara smashed the existing world record for the biggest wave ever surfed in 2011, after riding a monster 24-metre wave on Praia do Norte.
He then broke his own record by riding a 30-metre wave in January 2013, also on Praia do Norte.
The waiting period for the third edition of the Big Wave Tour taking place is until 28 February, 2019, in Nazaré.