Surf Cat

There are many great surfers, from many great countries, all over the world. But let’s face it: Brazil currently has all the freaks.

By the last heat of the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans — which saw clear sunshine and clean, rippable waves at Kisakihama Beach, Miyazaki, Japan, after a passing typhoon dished out strong winds and rainfall the day before — Team Brazil had accumulated three medals across both divisions and was in the lead at the start of Finals Day. But facing fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina, American Kolohe Andino, and Japanese pro Shun Murakami in the Men’s Grand Final, it was WSL Men’s Championship Tour veteran Italo Ferreira’s 17.77 total, which included a perfect 10 full-rotation, that sealed the deal.

Italo. Photo: Jiminez/ISA

“That was a super cool contest,” said Ferreira. “I want to congratulate every surfer and country here. I am so tired, that was a lot of heats with a lot of emotional moments. I just tried to show my best surfing.”

Despite their current domination of the sport’s elite ranks, Team Brazil hasn’t won the World Surfing Games since 2000, making this victory particularly momentous. And while Ferreira was largely responsible for propelling his country to top honors, Gabriel Medina and Silvana Lima did their part, too, taking the Bronze in Men’s and the Silver in Women’s, respectively.

Medina and Slater. Photo: Evans/ISA

Meanwhile, the Americans took the Silver, led by Kolohe Andino — who earned the Silver in Men’s upon posting a 9.43 aerial in the dying moments that allowed him to surpass Medina — and Carissa Moore, who had earned the Copper in Women’s earlier in the week. The defending ISA World Surfing Games champions, Team Japan, earned the Bronze this time around— thanks largely to Murakami, who placed 4th in the Men’s Final for the second consecutive year. Nonetheless, by beating Indonesian pro Rio Waida in Repechage Round 10, Murakami became the highest-placing Asian here, therefore capturing provisional qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games.

“I was not thinking about the Olympic qualification, [I was] just surfing in the moment and fighting in that heat,” said Murakami. “I am looking forward to competing in Tokyo 2020, it would be great if I can hold on to my spot.”

Read More: Here’s How Surfers Will Qualify for Tokyo 2020

Shun Murakami. Photo: Jiminez/ISA

There were some shockers on Finals Day, though. Filipe Toledo had to withdraw from Repechage Round 10 due to injury. (This is very regrettable news for the 2019 World Title contender, with the Freshwater Pro soon approaching.) And Kelly Slater was unable to escape the Repechage Final and finished 5th overall.

“It was really fun and great meeting all the countries from around the world here,” said Slater. “With all the camaraderie between the teams, this is one of the more fun events that you can surf in.”

“To have the greatest of all time surfing on Team USA was epic for everyone – the coaches, the team, support staff and fans,” said head coach Chris Stone. “And to have Kolohe win the individual silver medal and the U.S. to win team silver is a boost for the surfing at all levels. The program benefits, everybody benefits all the way down to the junior programs.”

Slater. Photo: Jiminez/ISA

Meanwhile, eight surfers have now provisionally qualified for Tokyo 2020 on a continental basis from Europe, Asia and Oceania: Shun Murakami (JPN), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Billy Stairmand (NZL), Frederico Morais (POR) for the men and Shino Matsuda (JPN), Anat Lelior (ISR), Bianca Buitendag (RSA) and Ella Williams (NZL) on the women’s.

Kolohe Andino. Photo: Jiminez/ISA

“Today is a very special day for the history of surfing,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “For the first time, every nation brought their surfing dream teams, and for the first time, an ISA World Surfing Games is a qualifier for the Olympic Games. Thank you to all the competitors, including the CT surfers, for taking time to compete and enjoy the ISA Aloha spirit at our World Surfing Games. The ISA will be back in Japan in less than a year for the arrival of surfing at the world’s greatest sporting stage, the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

Photo: Jiminez/ISA

“Tokyo 2020 is delighted with the success of the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games in Miyazaki this week,” Tokyo 2020 Sports Director Koji Murofushi added. “The event, held in this very popular surf destination in Japan, offered a glimpse of how spectacular Olympic Surfing will be next year.”

Final Results

Team Ranking
Gold – Brazil
Silver – USA
Bronze – Japan
Copper – Peru
5 – South Africa
6 – Australia
7 – New Zealand
8 – Costa Rica
9 – Spain
10 – Canada

Open Men:
Gold – Italo Ferreira (BRA)
Silver – Kolohe Andino (USA)
Bronze – Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Copper – Shun Murakami (JPN)

Open Women (finished September 10th):
Gold – Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
Silver – Silvana Lima (BRA)
Bronze – Bianca Buitendag (RSA)
Copper – Carissa Moore (USA)