Stars appear to be aligning for the world’s top young surfers as Paris 2024 Olympic surfing qualification criteria has been unveiled, just as they happen to be competing at the world junior championships in Surf City, El Salvador.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially released the approved Qualification System (QS) for Paris 2024, as Olympic surfers will challenge the frequently massive waves of Teahupo’o, the world renowned reef break in Tahiti that will serve as the Olympic venue in just over two years.
Twenty-four men and 24 women, an increase of four surfers per gender from surfing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic surfing competition. Once again, two sets of medals will be at stake in one shortboard event each for men and women.
While the quota of two surfers per gender per country generally remains in place, two exceptions to this rule have been introduced for the ISA World Surfing Games 2022 and 2024 Team Champions. This exception could result in some of the leading nations having their quota increased to three athletes.
In accordance with IOC guidelines, the qualification events have been determined in hierarchical order of qualification with the 2023 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour serving as the leading qualifier. The top 10 eligible men and first 8 eligible women, providing that there are no more than two per country per gender, will represent their countries in Tahiti.
Additionally, also helping to ensure a global field, four men and four women will be selected from the ISA’S flagship event, the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games. The top finishing eligible surfer of each gender from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania will punch their tickets to Paris 2024. The first 5 eligible men and first 7 eligible women will come from the 2024 ISA World Suring Games.
Host nation France is guaranteed at least one surfer per gender.
“Teahupo’o will be a spectacular, magical showcase for our sport in the Olympics,” said ISA president Fernando Aguerre. “Olympic surfing in 2024 will certainly expand on the Tokyo success. We are super excited to share this tangible pathway for surfers to reach their Olympic dreams.
“Surfing is such a personal, individual expression of performance that it was really important for us to continue to enable the surfers to win the right to qualify based on their own performances. For this reason, all qualification places, with a few noted special exceptions, will be made by name,” said Aguerre, the Argentine-born ISA chief who lobbied for more than two decades for surfing’s place in the Olympic Games, a dream realized in Tokyo 2020.
In a twist from the Tokyo 2020 qualifying format, team competitions at the 2022 and 2024 World Surfing Games will add the potential of a country earning an extra quota place, if they are victorious, and regardless of the two-per country quota limit.
“It is an important innovation that will further motivate the top surfing nations to win the ISA Team World Champion Trophy,” Aguerre noted.
At surfing’s ballyhooed Olympic debut at Tsurigasaki Beach, competitors from across five continents showcased their talents and rode waves for Olympic medals. Hawaiian Carissa Moore was the class of the women’s field, winning gold, more than a century after the father of modern surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, also a Hawaiian and an Olympic swimming champion at the Stockholm 1912 Games, first expressed his dream of surfing becoming an Olympic sport.
Brazilian star Italo Ferreira rode his way to a gold medal in the men’s competition. Ferreira has also taken top honors at the World Surfing Games and on the World Surf League tour, having won the sport’s triple crown, a feat that may never be matched.
The IOC announcement this week of the new parameters and guidelines for Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying, including the addition of eight athletes, is another milestone in the sport’s Olympic journey.
“This is another epic moment for the sport of surfing, and for all of us who have dreamt of Olympic surfing and shared in the amazing debut in Tokyo last year,” Aguerre said. “I can’t wait to see how our incredibly talented athletes perform in qualification with the target of becoming the next Olympic medalists in surfing in 2024.”
World Junior Championships showcase El Salvador and future stars
Perhaps some of those dreams will be fulfilled in Paris, or more likely at Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032, should surfing’s Olympic ride continue, by teen-aged participants competing at this week’s ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Surf City, El Salvador.
Jackson Dorian of Hawaii and Sierra Mills of Australia are among the rising stars in action.
The El Salvador event marks the first time the championship has been contested since 2019, with two editions having been cancelled due to the pandemic.
A record-breaking 419 surfers (233 boys and 186 girls), representing 45 teams, are seeking medals across four categories - Boy’s U-16 and U-18 and Girl’s U-16 and U-18. A team champion will also be crowned with the United States riding to defend their title from 2019.
The marquee under-20 event has proven to be a pathway to the Olympic Games. Of the 40 surfers that competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, 33 had competed in past ISA World Junior Championships and 16 of them were medalists.
“Gabriel Medina, Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren and many others have been ISA World Junior champions,” Aguerre said, listing surfing legends. “What you do here as athletes will have a great impact on all of your careers,” said the surfing chief, addressing the young competitors.
Competition takes place at two locations – La Bocana for the girls, and El Sunzal for the boys, and runs through June 5th.
Aguerre believes that the major global competition will have a significant impact for Surf City and El Salvador as a premier surfing destination moving forward.
“Only a couple of weeks after president Nayib Bukele assumed the presidency back in 2019, he got in contact with me and we started talking about working together to develop El Salvador’s future with surfing,” Aguerre said. “Surfing relates to tourism certainly, but it’s also a healthy life path for younger generations.”
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