World Surfing Games 2024: Waida, Glatzer, McGonagle look strong on hunt for second Olympic ticket as round 2 wraps up
The Indonesian surfer advanced in first place from his heat, while his long-time challenger Kanoa Igarashi was relegated to the repechage after a battle featuring Jordy Smith and Leon Glatzer. In the women’s competition, Sky Brown continued her quest to become the first dual Olympic skater and surfer after two successful heats in one day.
Surfing
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was an experience that Indonesia’s Rio Waida cannot forget. And he is determined to live that Olympic moment again.
To do so, he will have to finish among the Top 8 eligible male surfers at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games*, which are taking place in Arecibo, Puerto Rico from 23 February to 3 March.
“I want to do it for my family and my friends,” Waida told Olympics.com after advancing to the third round. “They know that's my dream and they support me, so I want to pay them back. I want to make them happy. That's the first thing on my mind.”
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Surfing
23 Feb - 3 Mar
Surfing | Olympic Qualifier | World Games | Arecibo - Puerto Rico
Waida was the top surfer in his heat at El Pico, which also included fellow Olympian Leandro Usuna of Argentina and Tokyo 2020 wildcard Carlos Munoz of Costa Rica.
While he qualified in first place, Waida was unhappy with his score of 10.93 and went out to surf again as soon as his heat was done.
“My body is feeling heavy because I've just been in Hawaii,” said Waida who made a dash trip to Puerto Rico the day before the Opening Ceremony after competing on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour at Pipeline and Sunset Beach.
“I've been surfing big waves, so I didn't get that type of wave that's like a small wave, so I struggled a little bit today. That's why I just went for a quick surf to try my other board that kind of works for little small waves. I’m feeling good.”
Waida is careful to iron out any kinks in his preparation after narrowly missing out on classification at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador.
There he made it to the fifth round of the competition before being relegated to the repechage and eliminated. Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi ultimately clinched the spot as the top male surfer from Asia, while Waida’s dreams were put on hold for eight months.
And those dreams are getting bigger.
“The preparation, it's the same, but probably bigger goals. That's it. That's different,” he said about what has changed for him since the 2023 World Surfing Games. “This year is a big year. It's Olympics and, of course, it will be my second year on the Tour, so I want to do better. I want to work harder and I want to do better than last year.”
Leon Glatzer pulls out signature airs to upset Kanoa Igarashi
Igarashi has been a long-time shadow on Waida’s Olympic journey. It was not only in Surf City El Salvador that he beat the Indonesian surfer to the Paris 2024 ticket. He also eliminated him in their round 3 heat at Tokyo 2020 before going on to win the silver medal.
But in Puerto Rico, their fates were reversed.
While Waida celebrated advancing to the third round, Igarashi found himself in a tough heat against South Africa’s top Championship Tour surfer Jordy Smith and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Leon Glatzer.
Smith topped the heat with the highest overall score of the day among the men, getting 15.27 points, while Germany’s Glatzer pulled out his signature airs to push Igarashi into the third slot.
“It was a pretty stacked heat for a second round only. Just competing with Jordy, he’s been one of my idols since I was a little kid. I watched him basically before every free surf,” Glatzer told Olympics.com. “It was a really good heat.”
Other Tokyo 2020 athletes also got a step closer to getting their second Olympic ticket, including Ramzi Boukhiam, Daniella Rosas, Dominic Barona, and Leilani McGonagle.
Costa Rica’s McGonagle had an unfortunate start in the women’s round 2 against Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Tsuzuki Amuro. The young surfer wiped out on two heavy waves, but then managed to find the rhythm again and finish first.
"After the two wipe-outs I paddled back out, breathed and told myself, ‘Come on, we didn´t come all the way here for this’ and found the momentum again,” McGonagle told Olympics.com.
Sky Brown’s dual-sport dream continues
While some athletes chased their second Olympic tickets, Great Britain’s Sky Brown continued the search for a historic first.
The 15-year-old is on a quest to become the first athlete to qualify in skateboarding and surfing at an Olympic Games, and her journey so far has been far from easy.
Brown made her World Surfing Games debut in a tough heat against Australia’s two-time world champion Tyler Wright. After successfully navigating her way out of that heat – a result that got her many congratulations on shore, including a hug from her father - she returned to the water a few hours later to compete in round 2 against Tokyo 2020 Olympian Johanne Defay and 2019 Pan American Games bronze medallist Mathea Olin.
The Olympic skateboarding medallist managed to beat Olin by 0.37 points and now advances to the third round.
Brown and the rest of the athletes in the main round will get a break for a day and return to competition on Tuesday, 27 February.
The day before that will see the biggest cuts to the athlete field as two repechage rounds take place in Rastrial and El Pico.
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