A before and after in the history of surfing
May 29th saw the start of what has been the most important global event in the history of surfing: the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Surfing Games 2021.
257 surfers from 52 countries from all continents of the world came to Surf City El Salvador with a common purpose: to get a spot for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, a unique and memorable Olympic Games in which, for the first time in history, surfing will participate as a world sport.
For 9 days, La Bocana and El Sunzal, two beaches located in the coastal town of El Tunco, have been home to the candidates who have participated in the competitions, thus, Surf City El Salvador, has become the great venue of the most important World Cup in recent years, an event that has undoubtedly given great prestige and recognition to the country.
The competitors
The competition brought together surfers from all over the world to fight for the 12 Olympic spots up for grabs, 7 for women and 5 for men.
The women who qualified for the tokyo 2020 olympic surfing:
- Yolanda Sequeria (Portugal)
- Teresa Bonvalot (Portugal)
- Daniella Rosas (Peru)
- Leilani McGonagle (Costa Rica)
- Mahina Maeda (Japan)
- Amuro Tsuzuki (Japan)
- Pauline Ado (France)
The 5 men who qualified for the tokyo 2020 olympic surfing:
- Leon Glatzer (Germany)
- Miguel Tudela (Peru)
- Lucca Mesinas (Peru)
- Manuel Selman (Chile)
- Hiroto Ohhara (Japan)
All of them, together with their efforts, took the tickets to the Tokyo Olympics.
Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper
The Minister of Tourism of El Salvador, Morena Valdez, presented:
- Gold medal to Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia, women’s world champion.
- Silver Medal to Yolanda Sequeira, from Portugal.
- Bronze Medal to Teresa Bonvalot, from Portugal.
- Copper Medal to Daniella Rosas, from Peru.
Pablo Franco – Internacional Surfing Association
And in the men’s division…
- Joan Duru, from France, won the Gold Medal.
- Kanoa Igarashi, from Japan, Silver medal.
- Jeremy Flores of France, bronze medal.
- Hiroto Ohhara, Copper medal.
In the team awards, France won Gold, Japan, Silver, Portugal, Bronze medal and Peru, Copper.
Ben Reed – Internacional Surfing Association
An impeccable organisation
An event organized by the ISA (International Surfing Association), together with El Salvador government, where an effective Health and Biosecurity Plan was validated, actively implementing the necessary COVID protocols to keep safety at the forefront.
The ISA President highlighted that El Salvador «became part of world surfing history with the organisation of the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Surfing Games 2021.
All in all, a successful World Surfing Championship, a success that not only reflects the commitment of Salvadoran leadership and global surfing development, but also an ambition to establish a leading country as a surfing destination.
So this great event will be remembered for the location, but also for the level of the participants and, above all, for its historic importance in the lead up to the first Olympic Games in which surfing will participate.
Sean Evans – Internacional Surfing Association