After colossal waves and heated UV rays, two nations have earned the first two Olympic quota spots for the Paris 2024 Games: Japan’s men’s national team and USA’s women’s national team.
The United States and Japan will be setting out for the gold in Paris in two years time following an incredible performance at the ISA World Surfing Games this past week, which were held from Sept. 16-24 in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Team USA’s Kirra Pinkerton earned the women’s individual title at the 2022 ISA World Surfing Games, while Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Kanaoa Igarashi earned the men’s title. Both victories contributed to their teams’ overall wins because everything is based on a point system.
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Pinkerton was accompanied by Zoe McDougall and Gabriela Bryan, while Igarashi had Kamiyama Keanu and Murakami Shun by his side.
The two teams expressed their pure elation following the competition, in awe of what they had accomplished with their teammates.
“I told myself at the start of the competition that I wanted to take the little girl inside of me to the top and I can't believe that I've done that,” Pinkerton said in an interview with Olympics.com. “I'm so proud and so happy I'm one step closer to my dream of trying to win gold at the Olympics.”
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“This week I learned a lot about myself," Igarashi said. “In surfing, you have to be selfish, but I really learned a lot about myself as a person and how important it is to share that competitive energy and knowledge with the team and to bring a team together.”
The 2024 Summer Games will be only the second time the sport has been part of the Olympic program, with its debut occurring at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
