Japanese Surfers Stoked for Tokyo 2020

(ATR) Aspiring Olympians from Japan say that surfing is captivating a wave of young competitors and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will only accelerate the phenomenon.

Japanese surfers competing at the 2016 ISA World Stand-Up Paddling Championship this week in Fiji can’t help but dream about the excitement the Tokyo 2020 Games will bring to the sport.

Yuuka Horikoshi, 17, has aptly displayed her talents in Fiji qualifying for Saturday’s SUP surfing final. She is also striving to make the Japanese Olympic team in 2020 as a shortboard competitor.

"I want to perform on a high level, have fun and really prepare myself over the next three years for the Tokyo Olympics," Horikoshi tells Around the Rings in Fiji.

"I’m very happy and this will be a really good experience," Horikoshi says of the lifestyle sport’s Olympic debut in Japan. "I will concentrate on my shortboard for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but also continue SUP longboard surfing.

Toshiro Harada, 38, is a veteran surfer on Japan’s squad in Fiji. He sees himself coaching his younger teammates in Tokyo 2020.

"Young Japanese kids are really interested in surfing and were very impressed by Hiroto Ohara winning the U.S. Open," Harada says, referring to the rising star who became the first Japanese surfer to win the prestigious U.S. event in Huntington Beach, Calif. in 2015.

Team Japan’s performances on the international stage are also improving rapidly. Japanese surfers cruised to an impressive fourth place result at the recent ISA World Junior Championships in Azores, Portugal.

International Surfing Association (ISA) president Fernando Aguerre says the future is promising for Japanese surfing.

"Fifteen years ago, they would have never been better than 10th and now they are commonly top five," Aguerre said of the country’s results. "It’s a young surfing nation compared to Australia, the U.S. or even Brazil."

Currently, it is estimated that there are two million surfers in Japan, a number that seems to be growing.

Harada assures that Olympic surfing will inspire Japanese youth culture while also hoping visitors to the Tokyo Games will be equally inspired.

"Surfing is like a culture and this will be the first experience for the IOC, so I hope we will have a good competition and show off our sport at its best," Harada said.

Takeo Yokoyama is a former World Cup freestyle skier acting as the manager of Team Japan at the Fiji championship.

"With Japanese surfing the level continues to get higher and higher, so I hope we will get a gold medal in Tokyo 2020," Yokoyama said.

Twenty men and 20 women will ride waves at their best, competing for the first-ever Olympic surfing medals in 2020.

Harada goes a step further than Yokoyama, boldly predicting that Japan will indeed win a surfing gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Preparations at Chiba Prefecture

Aguerre and ISA officials have signed off on Shidashita Beach in Chiba Prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo, as the Olympic surfing venue for 2020. The IOC Executive Board is expected to finalize the location in December.

"It is 50 minutes by car or train from downtown Tokyo, so the athletes will stay in the village," Aguerre tells ATR about the venue.

"Chiba is really popular for surfing with a long history in Japan," Aguerre said. "The water is really clear and there is good potential for waves, but of course it depends on the weather."

The young Japanese surfer Horikoshi frequently rides waves at Shidashita.

"Chiba Prefecture brings the highest levels of surfing in Japan," Horikoshi said. "In good conditions, waves can be six to eight feet high."

Aguerre envisions surfing at the Olympics as not just a competition, but also a sporting carnival celebrating surf culture. He talks of live music from renowned singer/surfers such as Jack Johnson or Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performing on the beach.

"The set-up is kind of like an amphitheater," Aguerre says of Shidashita. "There will probably be some stands for the Olympic family, but a lot of people are just going to be watching from the beach."

The new Olympic sport was rubber stamped by the IOC Executive Board on Aug. 3 in Rio de Janeiro.

Regarding the effect that surfing could have on the Olympic Movement, the Argentine-born surfing chief says: "I think it’s going to be a little bit of a paradigm shift."

American Appleby Wins Fiji Distance Race

With the stunning visual backdrop of Fiji’s natural island beauty, day five of the World Stand-Up Paddling Championship saw U.S. competitor Candice Appleby convincingly defend her world title in the women’s distance race.

Appleby outdistanced her nearest rival, Olivia Piana of France, by one minute and 37 seconds in an exhilarating 17.5km open water race. The grueling competition took paddlers from Fiji’s renowned surf spot Cloudbreak to the island paradise of Musket Cove.

In what was an inspiring and emotional moment, Tanvi Jagadish of India was urged on by all nations as she was the last of 19 racers to cross the finish line. Her courageous performance took three hours and two minutes. Watch her cross the finish line here.

Two days of competition remain in Fiji, notably Saturday’s signature SUP surfing events at Cloudbreak where waves could reach three meters in height. Australia retains a commanding lead in the overall team standings ahead of New Zealand. The United States is in third place.

Written by Brian Pinelliin Fiji

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