The World Games of Surfing were held in El Salvador, and 25-year-old Kanoa Igarashi, the silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in the men's competition, reached the final and finished fourth.

As a result, Igarashi became the highest Asian team in this tournament and was selected for next year's Paris Olympics.

At the World Games, which are the world surfing championships held in El Salvador, Central America, the top Asian athletes were supposed to be selected for the Paris Olympics on the condition that they participate in next year's World Games.

On the final day, the semi-finals and final were held on the 7th, and the men's Japan team featured Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Igarashi who made it to the semifinals, and 11-year-old Reio Inaba, who advanced to the 26th round of the repechage after losing in the quarterfinals.

At this point, the Asian team was narrowed down to two players remaining in the competition.

Igarashi, who is aiming to win the tournament for the second time in a row, came out on top in the semifinals and advanced to the four-man final, while Inaba lost in the 2th round of the repechage.

In the final, where the difficulty and novelty of the wave technique ridden within the time limit were scored on a 2-point scale, and the ranking was determined by the sum of the two highest-scoring shots, Igarashi did not improve his score with a total of 4.11 and finished fourth.

As a result, Igarashi became the highest Asian athlete in this tournament and was selected to represent Japan at next year's Paris Olympics.

The winner was 10-year-old Alan Cleland of Mexico with a total of 2.14.

In the Japan team for this tournament, Shino Matsuda of the women's team was the top Asian athlete and became the first athlete in all sports to be selected for the Parioli Olympics, and Igarashi became the second player to be selected for the national team.

Igarashi: "My goal is to win a gold medal" Matsuda: "I want to grow in this one year"

Surfers Shino Matsuda and Kanoa Igarashi, who have been unofficially selected to represent their Japan at the Paris Olympics, held an online press conference on the 7th after the Games.

Among them, 2-year-old Igarashi, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics who will be participating in two consecutive Games, expressed his joy, saying, "The Tokyo Olympics were an amazing experience, so it is the best feeling as an athlete to be able to go to the Olympics again."

He added, "My goal is to step up for the Paris Olympics and win a gold medal, and I'm really happy that I got a little closer to my gold medal goal by qualifying for this tournament."

In addition, the 25-year-old Matsuda, who will be participating in the Olympic Games for the first time, expressed his aspiration, "I want to grow over the past year so that I can enjoy the challenge of Tahiti, the venue for the Paris Olympics.

Kanoa Igarashi wins silver at the Tokyo Olympics and plays on the world stage

Kanoa Igarashi is 25 years old. She won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and will be participating in the Olympics for the second time.

The name "Kanoa" means "freedom" in the local language of Hawaii.

Born and raised in California, USA, he started surfing at the age of 2 and has been competing in the "Championship Tour" since he was 3 years old.

Possessing brilliant surfing that combines speed and strength, he won the "Championship Tour" tournament held in Indonesia in 18 for the first time as a Japan player, and continues to play an active role on the world stage as a top player.

He won his first World Games title at last year's World Games, where a spot at the Paris Olympics was at stake, and led the Japan to first place in the men's team competition with three players competing for total points.

As a result, the men's surfing team became the first Japan athlete to qualify for the Paris Olympics, and up to three Japan men were able to compete at the Paris Olympics.