A world championship was held that doubled as the final qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in surfing, and a total of four men and women, including Kanoa Igarashi, who ranked high in this tournament, were nominated as Olympic representatives.
The World Surfing Championships were held in El Salvador from the 29th of last month to the 6th of this month in preparation for the final qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
The qualification for the Olympics is to be given to the top 5 athletes for boys and the top 7 athletes for women in this tournament, and Japanese boys are the result of the world's highest tour tournament "Championship Tour". As a result, Igarashi, who had already secured a job offer, came in second, and Hiroto Ohara, who was born in Ichinomiya Town, Chiba Prefecture, where the Olympic venue is located, came in fourth.
In addition, Mahina Maeda from Hawaii was 8th, and Yumeji Tsuzuki, who is participating in the "Championship Tour" this season, was 9th, but according to the Japan Surfing Federation, the top players have different conditions. Since there were athletes who were qualified to participate in the Olympic Games, the two of them won the quota and were nominated as representatives.
What is Kanoa Igarashi?
Kanoa Igarashi is 23 years old, born and raised in California, USA.
He started surfing at the age of 3 and gained strength by winning many junior tournaments in the United States. Since he was 18, he has participated in the "Championship Tour" in which 32 of the world's top players participate.
With a splendid surfing that combines speed and strength, he was quiet and won the first championship as a Japanese player at the "Championship Tour" tournament held in Indonesia in May 2019, ranking 6th in the annual ranking. I entered and made sure that the representative of the Tokyo Olympics was unofficially decided.
The name "Kanoa" means "freedom" in Hawaii's local language.
What is Hiroto Ohhara?
Hiroto Ohara is 24 years old.
I'm from Ichinomiya Town, Chiba Prefecture, where the surfing venue for the Tokyo Olympics is located.
Although he is 1 meter and 62 centimeters tall, he has a characteristic of dynamic surfing such as sharp turns that make big splashes, and at the age of 13, he won the All Japan Championship sponsored by the Japan Surfing Federation.
He was the first Japanese player to win the US Open in 2015 when he was 18 years old.
Last year, he won the "Japan Open" held in Ichinomiya Town, won the right to participate in this world championship, and was appointed as the representative of the Tokyo Olympics held in the local area, Tsurigasaki Beach, which is the practice base.