Final lineup for the first Surfing’s Olympic Qualifiers

20 women and men will be representing their nations in the Surfing’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Shidashita Beach will be hosting this first event that will add more vibrant events and culture into the Olympic programme. 

The qualified surfers come from 17 different countries. For this first edition of Surf as an Olympic discipline, 20 men and 20 women will compete to become the first Olympic gold medallist. 

The Olympic dream has been alive for over 100 years

Over 100 years ago, Duke Kahanamoku dreamt of surfing in the Olympics. He won the medal five times in the swimming discipline, and between competitions he traveled around the world and popularized the sport of surfing. He is known as the “father of modern surfing”. 

Now, he would be proud to know the International Olympic Committee decided unanimously to include surfing in the Olympic Games. A total of 40 athletes (20 men and 20 women) will enter the Olympics qualification. Moreover, a maximum of four surfers from each country’s National Olympic Committee will be able to compete. 

Igarashi Kanoa, representing Japan, is excited about the upcoming Olympics. According to him, there are “A lot of things to look forward to”.

Women who will take part in the Tokyo Olympics 

From the 2019 WSL Championship Tour:

Carissa Moore (USA), Caroline Marks (USA), Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Silvana Lima (BRA), Brisa Hennessy (CRC), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Johanne Defay (FRA). 

From the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games: 

Yolanda Sequeria (POR), Teresa Bonvalot (POR), Daniella Rosas (PER), Leilani McGonagle (CRC), Mahina Maeda (JPN), Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN) and Pauline Ado (FRA).

From the 2019 World Surfing Games:

Anat Lelior (ISR), Bianca Buitendag (RSA), Ella Williams (NZL) and Sofia Mulanovich (PER). 

Finally, from the 2019 Pan Am Games, Dominic Barona (ECU) will be the 20th surfer in the women’s surf category. 

Men competing in the Olympic Debut

2019 World Surf League Championship Tour: 

Gabriel Medina (BRA), Italo Ferreira (BRA), Kolohe Andino (USA), John John Florence (USA), Owen Wright (AUS), Julian Wilson (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Michel Bourez (FRA), Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) and Jordy Smith (RSA). 

2021 World Surfing Games:

Leon Glatzer (GER), Miguel Tudela (PER), Lucca Mesinas (PER), Manuel Selman (CHI) and Hiroto Ohhara (JPN).

2019 World Surfing Games: 

Rio Waida (INA), Frederico Morais (POR), Billy Stairmand (NZL) and Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR). 

Finally, for the 2019 Pan American Games, Leandro Usuna from Argentina will be the 20th Olympic athlete. 

How will the athletes be judged? 

Judges will be rating athletes based on the type and difficulty of the maneuvers they perform. For example, an advanced move is the aerial: a surfer finds a ramp within a wave and launches off from the lip, gains air and lands back on the face of the wave. 

As in other Olympic events, judges will be scoring surfers with a score from 1 to 10 with two decimals. Judges base their score on a five-point system: commitment and difficulty, innovation and progression, variety, combination, speed, flower and flow. 

Additional rules include that only one athlete may ride a wave at any given time, and they may lose points for failing to use surfer etiquette. For instance, the surfer closest to the peak of a wave has the right of way for that wave. 

A shortboard competition

There are primarily two disciplines inside the sport: shortboard and longboard. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, all athletes will surf with a shortboard. This refers to a board that is shorter than 2 meters in length. These are quick and accurate, and more suited for fast and powerful waves. 

The event involves three finals consisting of 30-minute heats. The first round features four athletes per heat while the second round will have five. Onwards, competition turns into a one-on-one format. 

With attendance from surfers such as Florence who boasts two world championships or Carissa Moore, the lineup is filled with the best athletes in this nautical sport. Top surfers to watch will be coming from Australia and the USA, but Brazil also has a strong presence in the competition.