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Hawaiian surfer John John Florence has earned the coveted second and last spot on the men’s side of the USA Surfing Olympic team, joining San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino in the sport’s Olympic Games debut in Tokyo next year.
The battle for the position came down to the final heats of the Billabong Pipe Masters on the North Shore of Hawaii, Thursday, Dec. 19, where friend and rival Kelly Slater faltered in the semifinals against Brazilian Italo Ferreira and left the door open for Florence to be named the newest Olympian.
Andino and Florence, friends who have competed against one another since they were youngsters on the amateur circuit, will join the already announced women’s team: Hawaiian Carissa Moore and Florida surfer Caroline Marks, who lives in San Clemente.
Florence, battling an injury throughout the 2019 competitive season and missing several major events, entered the Billabong Pipe Masters with the primary goal of making the Olympic team.
Though Florence was knocked out in his quarterfinal heat as he went up against world-title contender Gabriel Medina, Florence had more points and sat higher in the rankings than Slater, an 11-time world champion, who would have needed to advance out of his semifinal heat to earn the Olympic spot.
“This is an absolute dream team,” USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse, said in a statement. “Team USA not only has the best surfers in the world, they are spectacular representatives of our sport and country. Their professionalism, passion and dedication to excellence is unmatched.”
USA Surfing, based in San Clemente, is the national governing body for surfing in the Olympics. A gold medal in surfing will “represent a pinnacle of achievement for surf athletes with more national and worldwide attention than surfing has ever known,” Cruse said.
Final rankings after the Pipe contest show Huntington Beach surfer Kanoa Igarashi sixth, just ahead of Slater and Florence and one spot down from Andino. Igarashi would have made the United States team for the Olympics, but with his dual citizenship in his parents’ native Japan, he opted to surf for the host country to secure his spot in the Games.
Slater wasn’t shy about his hopes of making the Olympic team, capping a nearly 30-year professional career during which he’s won nearly every accolade the sport offers. His performance at the Pipe did allow him to clinch the prestigious 2019 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title, the first time he’s earned the title since 1998 and the third time in his career.
Eleven-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater, seen here, was knocked out of the semi finals of the 2019 Billabong Pipe Masters, missing the spot to go to the 2020 Olympics but earning his third Triple Crown of Surfing on December 19, 2019 in Oahu, United States. (Photo by Ed Sloane/WSL via Getty Images)
Slater hinted that he’s feeling calm in competitions — and might not quite be ready to retire from competitive surfing.
“I might have to do one more lap, we’ll see,” he said to World Surf League interviewer Rosy Hodge. “Honestly, it took me until now to get comfortable in heats.”
The battle for the world title was equally heated, with Medina and Ferreira, the two highest-ranked surfers, making it to the finals with the world title on the line.
Earlier in the day, Medina was embroiled in a controversial interference, dropping in front of opponent Caio Ibelli in the dying seconds of their quarterfinal heat to block Ibelli from earning a score, puzzling commentators and spectators with the brazen move.
While many surf fans took to social media to slam the strategy, Medina was able to maintain his lead, despite dropping one of his scores, allowing him to advance in the event in search of his third world title.
Medina advanced after winning in the semifinals against San Clemente surfer Griffin Colapinto — a stellar finish for the young local surfer — to match up against Ferreira in the finals.
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In that match-up, Ferreira wasted no time posting two high scores, a 7.83 and 6.17 just minutes after the buzzer. But Medina immediately answered back with a 7.77.
Ferreira earned another high, 7.73, to put his opponent in a corner, a rare place for Medina who needed a second high score to catch his opponent. With the ocean seemingly turning off, there was no more opportunity for scores before the buzzer sounded, and Ferreira was hoisted above the crowd in victory.
Italo Ferreira of Brazil won his first World Surf League World Title after clinching the win at the 2019 Billabong Pipe Masters on December 19, 2019 in Oahu, United States. (Photo by Ed Sloane/WSL via Getty Images)
Ferreira, choking up with tears, dedicated the win to his grandmother and uncle, both of whom recently passed away.
“I just believed in myself. I know Gabe is a hard competitor and he plays so hard,” Ferreira said. “But this is my moment. I can’t believe it.”
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Read more: ocregister.com.
