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Standing on a wooden platform on the beachfront, with her telephoto lens pointing to the Pacific, the Japanese photographer

Nozomi

is least interested in the second round of surfing qualification at the Tokyo Olympics is, precisely, surfing.

You are not looking for images of surfers riding waves with incredible maneuvers on the board. It doesn't matter to him. He has not gotten up at five in the morning nor has he traveled almost 100 kilometers by bus from Tokyo for that. She is at Tsurigasaki Beach, on the east coast of Japan, to take photos of

Ramzi Boukhiam

.

In the Tokyo 2020 tokens, Ramzi appears as a prominent Moroccan surfer, one of the standard bearers of the kingdom of

Mohamed VI

during the opening ceremony. But for Nozomi's eyes and camera lens, more than a surfer,

Ramzi is a sex symbol

who has to be handsome in photos because the Japanese press demands him on its pages as one of the most attractive athletes in the world. Games: Brown, 1.85 tall, 85 kilos, hunk and honey-colored eyes.

"He was

Rihanna's

boyfriend,

" says the photographer.

In 2017, an image was published in which Ramzi took an affectionate bath in a jacuzzi with the famous singer.

The "ex boyfriend" lace is put on by Nozomi.

"Look at his Instagram, he is an incredible man. I would like him to pose for me, interview him and ask him if he has a girlfriend now," he adds.

Moroccan Ramzi Boukhiam uploaded this photo to his Instagram account after missing out on the surfing quarterfinals.

Shortboarding is the surfing discipline of these Tokyo 2020 Games, where

20 men and 20 women compete for medals

.

The test of the Moroccan (27 years old), with a father from Agadir and a mother from Amsterdam, arrives at noon.

He spends no more than half an hour in the water while a committee of five judges scores the pirouettes in his two best waves based on the degree of difficulty, speed and power.

Ramzi's grade is 7.53.

It has been left out of the quarterfinals.

Nozomi goes about her business: "Yes, I have taken good photos. Look at this one, how strong it comes out before going into the water."

Surfers appreciate the stronger wind on the second day of a sport that

debuted at the Olympics

on

Sunday at

Tsurigasaki Beach in the city of Ichinomiya.

Surfing has been responsible for a phenomenon not seen for decades in Japan: a small town with a population rebound.

Since the 2000s, new surf shops, restaurants and apartments and hotels have been opening in Ichinomiya to accommodate the

600,000 visitors who arrive each year

.

Plus all those who end up staying.

"The thundering reefs and the constant flow of waves towards the coast from three different directions, make this area a mecca among surfers in Japan," says a note on the JapanSurf website.

Although

the beach with the best waves is in Fukushima.

Although it has been open for two years after a long closure due to the accident at the nuclear power plant in 2011, the organization of the Games did not dare to move the surfing venue to the prefecture that has been carrying the backpack of radioactive threat for a decade.

Apart from the gray sand and the clean environment of the surrounding buildings, Tsurigasaki Beach has an air to that of the Concha de San Sebastián.

The volunteers of the organization of the Games do not allow the accredited press to approach less than 50 meters from the water where the surfers are.

The journalists finish the chronicle of the day in the huge tent that functions as a press center, where there are nine screens to follow the tests live.

What's the point of eating almost two hours of travel to end up watching surfing on television?

"Due to the anti-Covid protocols, the organization has put the press platform much further from the shore than normal. But you have to come because then it is the press conference of those who go to the semifinals," explains an Italian journalist specialized in surf.

Outside the tent, the Japanese workers and volunteers immediately call the attention of anyone who walks along the beach with the wrong mask on.

They are scared because this Monday 16 new cases of Covid-19 related to the Olympic Games have been reported.

Also concerned about the typhoon that is about to arrive from the Pacific.

They have named it Nepartak, after a famous warrior from Kosrae, an island in Micronesia. Japan's Meteorological Agency says Nepartak could bring winds of up to 126 km per hour this week. More wind, bigger waves for the enjoyment of surfers. Although typhoons are common in Japan, they should not be trusted.

Last year, one named Maysak struck the south of the Asian country, sinking a ship with 43 crew members and 5,800 cows on board.

The day at Tsurigasaki Beach ends with the big favorites qualifying for the quarterfinals: four-time women's world champion,

Carissa Moore

, and

John John Florence

, two-time men's world champion, both from Hawaii.

As well as the Brazilians

Gabriel Medina

and

Italo Ferreira.

Moroccan Ramzi Boukhiam returns home.

At least after the chase with the photographer Nozomi camera, he will make sure to have a place on the podium of the most handsome athletes of the Tokyo Olympics.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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