INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Poeti Norac, one of the rising stars of surfing, has died in Australia aged 24, the French Surfing Federation has confirmed.Norac, from the
Vendee region in France, died last weekend, but the cause of death has not been confirmed.The surfer, who had moved to Queensland's
Sunshine Coast a few months ago, had enjoyed 10 victories in the Coupe du France.She also made the finals of France's national
championships, coming second in 2018 and third in 2016 having started surfing aged six, with her father, Bruno.She began in shortboard
surfing before specialising in longboard surfing in which she had been competing for 10 years.The sportswoman often posted inspirational
messages on social media while visiting spectacular coastal locations."It's your path and only yours
People can walk by your side but no one can walk for you," she wrote last year.The French Surfing Federation said in a statement on its
website: "The surfing community has lost a family member, a beautiful person with a radiant smile, an artist on her board and whose
enthusiasm radiated in the Vendee and everywhere else."She was, it added, an "outstanding educator" who "transmitted her passion for surfing
and the ocean."A ceremony will be held soon to celebrate her life, the federation said.Oxbow, a surfing brand that sponsored Norac, wrote on
Instagram: "It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of our young ambassador Poeti Norac."It is with a heavy heart that we send
her loved ones and her many friends our most sincere and deep condolences
Her smile will forever be etched in our memories."
