Tokyo 2020: surf, from polystyrene to gold, the Ferreira fairytale

The Brazilian Italo Ferreira is the first surfing Olympic champion in the history of the Games. The 27 year old from Baia Formosa was the big favorite and did not disappoint by beating Japanese Kanoa Igarashi. In the waters of Ichinomiya, in Chiba prefecture, the bronze went to the Australian Owen Wright. "God has made my dream come true", his hot comment. Ferreira comes from a poor family and as a child he surfed on a polystyrene board. Among the first to congratulate him were the players of the Olympic Seleção who followed his final by bus.Ferreira is the son of a fisherman who, seeing him always on the beach watching the waves breaking on the shoreline, one day used a polystyrene crate that he used to bring the fish to the various restaurants in the area, obtaining boards that he gave to his son and those were the first surfboards of the future world champion and Olympic. It was then a cousin who gave him an old surfboard and from that moment Italo began a dazzling career: already two months later he was winning his first race. At the age of 15 he was noticed by the surfer talent scout and coach Luiz 'Pinga' Campos who convinced his parents to transfer him to Sao Paulo, where he could attend school and surf together with other talents trained by Campos, such as Miguel Pupo and Caio Ibelli. "I had nothing and I wanted everything, not for me,for my family, "he later recounted," I understood that surfing was the only opportunity I had. My parents had had a life that was too difficult and I wanted their life to change. "They say that in 2014, Dino Andino, a former professional surfer, came close to Timmy Patterson, who has been taking care of Italo's boards since he was 15 years old, and said to him: "Who the hell is that boy with that name that seems Italian? He is doing floaters on 8 foot closeout and stratospheric aerial. That boy is a monster. "In fact he was noted for powerful and well-placed backside turns associated with incredible balance. The following year Italo not only entered the world tour and won the Rookie of the year; in 2018, he won three contests and just missed the world title,that he would take home in December 2019. Ferreira has always remained very balanced and modest and is one of the few surfers not active on social media. "I'm a very simple guy who doesn't drink, don't smoke and don't like going to parties. I like to surf and have fun with my friends," he says of himself.

Italo Ferreira (AP Photo / Francisco Seco)

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July 27, 2021Brazilian Italo Ferreira is the first surfing Olympic champion in the history of the Games. The 27 year old from Baia Formosa was the big favorite and did not disappoint by beating Japanese Kanoa Igarashi. In the waters of Ichinomiya, in Chiba prefecture, the bronze went to the Australian Owen Wright.

"God made my dream come true", his hot comment. Ferreira comes from a poor family and as a child he surfed on a polystyrene board. Among the first to congratulate him were the players of the Olympic Seleção who followed his final by bus.

Ferreira is the son of a fisherman who, seeing him always on the beach watching the waves breaking on the shoreline, one day used a polystyrene crate that he used to bring the fish to the various restaurants in the area, obtaining boards that he gave to his son and those were the first surfboards of the future world champion and Olympic.

It was then a cousin who gave him an old surfboard and from that moment Italo began a dazzling career: already two months later he was winning his first race. At the age of 15 he was noticed by the surfer talent scout and coach Luiz 'Pinga' Campos who convinced his parents to transfer him to Sao Paulo, where he could attend school and surf together with other talents trained by Campos, such as Miguel Pupo and Caio Ibelli.

"I had nothing and I wanted everything, not for me, for my family", he later recounted, "I understood that surfing was the only opportunity I had. My parents had had a life that was too difficult and I wanted it to be. their life changed ".

They say that in 2014, Dino Andino, a former professional surfer, approached Timmy Patterson, who had been taking care of Italo's boards since he was 15, and said to him: "Who the hell is that boy with that name that seems Italian? 8-foot closeout floaters and stratospheric aerial. That guy is a monster. " In fact he stood out for his powerful and well placed backside turns associated with incredible balance.

The following year Italo not only entered the world tour and won the Rookie of the year; in 2018, he won three contests and narrowly missed the world title, which he would have taken home in December 2019.

Ferreira has always remained very balanced and modest and is one of the few surfers not active on social media. "I'm a very simple guy who doesn't drink, don't smoke and don't like going to parties. I like to surf and have fun with my friends," he says of himself.

Tokyo 2020: surf, from polystyrene to gold, the Ferreira fairytale

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