A wave of excitement over Olympic debut
THIS year will go down in the World Surf League’s history books as one of the most exciting ever on the world tour. So, what made 2019 so special?
Apart from the intense see-saw battles for both the men’s and women’s world titles, it was the battle for Olympic qualification spots that added a thrilling layer of competition to the already storied 2019 WSL Championship Tour.
With only 18 Olympic spots (10 male and eight female) allocated to the WSL for 2019 it means that several of the world’s most celebrated wave riders will become spectators rather than Olympians when surfing makes its debut at the Summer Olympics in July next year.
Case in point, Kelly Slater, aka the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time) and 11 times world champion, narrowly missed qualification to former world champ John John Florence after the duo went toe-to-toe in a dramatic showdown at the Banzai Pipeline last week.
When heading into the final events of the season in Hawaii, both Italo Ferreira and Carissa Moore had already secured their Olympic spots and were intensely focused on their respective world title campaigns.
While both world title contenders successfully fended off feverish attacks for their Jeep Yellow Jerseys, the pair will take vastly different paths in 2020.
For Ferreira, who edged out compatriot and two times world champion Gabriel Medina to win his maiden world title, next year will be all about his world title defence and a shot at Olympic gold.
For four times world champ Moore she, on the other hand, will take a year-long sabbatical from the Championship Tour as her quest for Olympic gold will be her main goal.
The WSL female and male provisional qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 are: United States: Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, Kolohe Andino, John John Florence. Australia: Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Owen Wright, Julian Wilson. Brazil: Tatiana Weston-webb, Silvana Lima, Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira. France: Johanne Defay, Jeremy Flores, Michel Bourez; Costa Rica: Brisa Hennessy. South Africa: Jordy Smith. Japan: Kanoa Igarashi.
In addition to the 18 WSL qualifiers, Peruvians Lucca Mesinas and Daniella Rosas also earned Olympic qualification through the Pan American Games held in their home country in July.
The 2019 ISA World Surfing Games in Japan in September saw Frederico Morais (Portugal) along with Ramzi Boukhiam (Morocco), Billy Stairmand (New Zealand) and Shun Murakami (Japan) also seal their qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The 12 remaining spots for the Olympic Games (five men and seven women) will only be decided at the ISA World Surfing Games in May at the Olympic venue of Tsurigasaki Beach, located 60km south-east of Tokyo.
The Olympics will feature a total of 40 surfers (20 men and 20 women) with a maximum of two surfers per gender and country vying for medals.