Surfer Carissa Moore of the United States takes home the Olympic gold medal for the first time in the sport’s history.
Surfing at the Summer Olympics – Shortboard
Carissa Moore of the United States is the first female athlete in the history of the sport of surfing to win an Olympic gold medal.
Tsurigasaki Beach in the region of Chiba, 40 miles from Tokyo, hosted the first-ever Olympic surfing competition over the course of three days. Italo Ferreira of Brazil won the men’s competition.
Read Also:
- R. Dincoff Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- J. Ilardi Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- A. Ginting Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Moore Learned to Surf with her dad at Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach when she was a kid.
She won the title of world surfing champion at the age of 18, becoming the sport’s youngest ever champion. After 28 years of trying, she finally achieved her goal and became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
She outscored South African silver medallist Bianca Buitendag in the shortboard competition. Tsuziki Amuro of Japan beat off Caroline Marks of the United States to take third place.
“I know how lucky and grateful I am. Moore exclaimed, “Winning the gold has been an unbelievable experience.” Trying to figure out the break, establish my rhythm, and learn how to trust myself without my family present has been “a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions” for the past few days. Meanwhile, in Hawaii, her loved ones were cheering her on.
Surfing, she told Reuters, is a way for her to “spread some optimism and love, all that kind of stuff” after her victory.
Moore continued, “The ocean has altered my life and I can’t fathom my existence without it; I’ll be surfing till I’m in the ground.” “Riding the wave gives you a sense of liberation, a sense of presence, and a deeper appreciation for the ocean and your place in it.”
On Tuesday, a rainbow arced overhead as Moore sailed triumphantly through Tropical Storm Nepartak’s heavy gusts and turbulent swell.
The opening wave of the men’s surfing competition was too much for Italo Ferreira of Brazil. The 27-year-old eventually defeated Kanoa Igarashi of Japan, who had learned to surf at the same beach where the competition took place.
During the celebration, Ferreira was hoisted over the shoulders of his teammates. Carissa Moore was also lauded for her incredible triumph.
Read Also:
- N. Derwael Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- M. Shahzad Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- B.T. Christianson Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Competing in the Quarterfinals of the Surf Contest are the top 16 Seeds.
From the original pool of 40 Olympic surfers, 16 competitors representing 17 countries advanced to today’s quarterfinals.
However, prominent surfers like Florence and Australia’s seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore were knocked out at an early stage.
Squeaking into the quarterfinals, Moore said, “It wasn’t my best performance but sometimes you’ve just got to accept those heat wins and roll with it.” Moore is currently the odds-on favourite to win gold.
It was shocking to see a few favourites lose early this morning. This highlights how challenging the current environmental conditions are.
