The 2020 Tokyo Games are set to be a historic edition of the oldest active sporting tournament on the planet. For starters, they will be held in 2021, but more importantly, it will also be the first Olympics in history in which surfing will be included as an event. It only took about 2,800 years but at long last, it has made the cut, and in July of this year we’ll get to watch the world’s best take a break from the relentless Championship Tour schedule to compete for the first-ever Gold Medal of surfing.
Finally, more than a year after it was initially scheduled, we have two surfing gold medallists. Neither Italo Ferreira nor Carissa Moore’s wins came as any great surprise, nor were the conditions in which they won – so at the end of it all, was the contest a success? Subpar conditions Let’s be honest, the …
The waves might not quite have been up to the level that we’re accustomed to seeing on the Championship Tour, but as it so often does, quality prevailed in both the men’s and women’s versions of the Tokyo 2020 surfing event. The women’s gold medallist, in what came as a surprise to literally nobody on …
The waves might not quite have been up to the level that we’re accustomed to seeing on the Championship Tour, but as it so often does, quality prevailed in both the men’s and women’s versions of the Tokyo 2020 surfing event. Italo Ferreira denied what would have been a fairytale result for the locals by …
At long last, Olympic surfing is finally here. There has been a year-long delay and rumours abound about the prospect of the whole Olympic competition being cancelled, but we’re now just days out and it appears that it’s all systems go. So will the waves cooperate? There have been many concerns among the surfing community …
With just days to go until the first-ever Olympic surfers hit the water at Tsurigasaki Beach, anticipation is beginning to build. The draw has now been confirmed for the event, so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the matchups in the five-person first-round heats, and who is likely…
Indonesia and Morocco haven’t historically been producers of a multitude of top-tier, Championship Tour level surfers, but anyone who has been to either country will know that there is a whole lot of serious talent in both of them. They’ll each send one surfer to Tokyo for the inaugural Olympic surfing event, so let’s take …
Germany and Israel aren’t exactly on the map as global surfing hotspots. Germany, of course, has only a small section of coast and one which is not exactly ideally positioned for quality surf, while Israel is locked away deep in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite that, one surfer from each country has managed to snare a …
Having covered the chances of the biggest teams in world surfing, the likes of the USA, Australia and Brazil, it’s time to have a look at the minnows. Argentina, Chile and Ecuador have each managed to compile teams of one to send to Tokyo despite not having any regulars on the world tour, so let’s …
Just eight nations will send multiple women to the first edition of Olympic surfing, and Costa Rica is almost certainly the most surprising of them. Brisa Hennessey and Leilana McGonagle will be the only two Costa Ricans heading to Tokyo, however, with no males qualifying for the Games. Meanwhile, Italy will send zero women but …
Portugal isn’t as renowned for producing quality surfers as the likes of Australia, the USA and Brazil, but the country’s exposed coastline has nonetheless helped to produce plenty of decorated pros over the years. They’ve managed to fill three of the four spots allotted to them for the upcoming Olympics – let’s take a look …
Neither South Africa nor New Zealand will fill their quota of four surfers at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, meaning they’ll have to share a single preview among each other. Let’s get to it, starting with the Kiwis. New Zealand With just a tick over 5 million people living on the two islands of New Zealand, …
Peru isn’t a nation typically associated with producing a plethora of elite surfers at the top level. In fact, throughout the course of the six events which have already taken place this season on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour, they haven’t had a single representative. Despite that, they have managed to fill their quota …
France has never been a powerhouse of world surfing in the same way that Australia, the United States and now Brazil are, but with a vast west coast and some of the best beach breaks in the world at their disposal, it’s no surprise that they still produce plenty of high-quality surfers. They’ve filled their …
Japan is not exactly globally recognised as a surf destination, but despite that, the country has been bestowed with the prestigious honour of being the first ever to host an Olympics surfing event. This, of course, comes with certain perks for Japanese surfers, namely that one man and one woman are automatically given a spot …
The USA have long been a powerhouse in world surfing, with some of the greatest names in the sport’s history – and indeed THE greatest name in Kelly Slater – coming out of the States. That’s despite the fact that, at the international level, Hawaii competes separately, meaning names like John John Florence and Carissa …
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