Surfing

Carissa Moore of the United States and Italo Ferreira of Brazil took home surfing's top prizes in the sport's first-ever appearance at the Olympics.

Moore defeated South Africa's Bianca Buitendag 14.93 to 8.46 in the women's gold-medal match. Ferreira had no problems in his gold-medal match against Kanoa Igarashi, scoring an easy win, 15.14 to 6.60.

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Women's Surfing Results

Gold: Carissa Moore (United States) def. Bianca Buitendag (South Africa), 14.93 to 8.46

Bronze: Amuro Tsuzuki (Japan) def. Caroline Marks (United States), 6.80 to 4.26

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Men's Surfing Results

Gold: Italo Ferreira (Brazil) def. Kanoa Igarashi (Japan), 15.14 to 6.60

Bronze: Owen Wright (Australia) def. Gabriel Medina (Brazil), 11.97 to 11.77

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The weather forecast led organizers to push the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals into one day. The medal matches were originally scheduled to be held Wednesday, but tropical storm Nepartak is expected to cause large rainfalls in the Tokyo area this week.

Despite some gloomy conditions early in the day, things started to clear up in time for the women's final.

A four-time champion on the ASP Women's World Tour, Moore further solidified her standing as the best surfer in the world with this performance.

"I feel super blessed, super fortunate. It's been an incredible experience," Moore told reporters after her win. "It's been a crazy couple of days, a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions just trying to figure out the break, find my rhythm, learning how to trust myself without my family here."

🇺🇸SURFIN' USA🇺🇸

Four-time World Champion Carissa Moore is the first-ever Gold Medalist (🥇) in the Women's Surfing Shortboard competition, defeating 🇿🇦's Bianca Buitendag.

A historic moment for the United States on the waves.#Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/1125vrk8Gr

— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) July 27, 2021

The defining move of Moore's run was a two-turn combo that garnered a score of 7.33 to put her over the top for gold.

Things were also emotional on the men's side when Ferreira clinched the first gold medal for his country with a brilliant run on the waves.

What a moment.

Brazil's Italo Ferreira made history as the first Olympic gold medalist in men's surfing, and was carried out of the water by his team. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/8fACqFjmtS

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2021

It wasn't entirely smooth sailing for Ferreira on his run. He had to make a board change after his preferred choice broke on the first wave he hit.

"I broke my good board on my first wave. That board gives me good speed, the other one is more slow," Ferreira said after his win. "It's super hard out there, but I knew that there was a lot of opportunities around."

Despite not being able to have the board he wanted for the entire run, Ferreira made his backup work with spectacular results.

The host nation was given plenty of reasons to celebrate surfing's Olympic debut. Amuro Tsuzuki beat out Caroline Marks for bronze on the women's side.

Igarashi came up short in his run against Ferreira, but the 23-year-old still walked away from the Games with a silver medal around his neck.

Katherine Diaz, a 22-year-old Olympic surfing hopeful, died while training at the El Tunco beach in El Salvador after being struck by lightning while training, per Matias Grez of CNN.com. 

"Katherine came over to hug her [friend], as soon as she finished hugging her, the noise was heard," her uncle Beto Diaz, who said he was with her in the water, told an El Salvadoran newspaper (h/t Grez). "She, the friend, was thrown by the force of the lightning strike too, the board threw me back. Katherine died instantly."

According to AS, "the sky was clear and it was an unforeseen storm that did not seem to carry much electrical intensity either" before Diaz was struck by the lightning (h/t Sven Busch of the Olympic Channel).

The La Bocana and El Sunzal beaches in El Salvador are set to host the International Surfing Association's Surf City El Salvador World Surfing Games between May 29 to June 6, which will also be the final qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Games. Surfing will make its Olympic debut at this summer's Games.

According to Chris Bumbaca of USA Today, Diaz was also a chef and had her own business in El Tunco alongside being an Olympic hopeful in surfing. 

It is with a heavy heart that the ISA has learned about the passing of El Salvador’s Katherine Diaz. pic.twitter.com/7SQCEHPpu3

— International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing) March 21, 2021

We send our heartfelt condolences to Katherine’s family, the surfers of El Salvador, and to all those in the international surfing community whose lives she touched.

We will never forget you. pic.twitter.com/mIBxCQzRcw

— International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing) March 21, 2021

"Katherine was a girl very passionate about sports, she was very motivated and happy for the event that was approaching," El Salvador's surfing association, FESASURF, said in a statement (h/t Grez). "'The Paddle Out'—a ceremony in her honor—will be held next Tuesday."

A funeral was held for Diaz on Friday. 

The Maui Pro surf competition in Honolua Bay, Hawaii, which features many of the top female surfers in the world, was put on indefinite hold after a 56-year-old man was attacked by a shark on Tuesday, three hours prior to the second day of the event, per Scott Gleeson of USA Today.

The man reportedly suffered injuries to his leg and required both CPR at the scene and surgery, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. 

Looking back on an unexpected day and sending thoughts and prayers to the victim and all involved with the attack today in the Bay💙🙏The #MauiPro is on hold @wsl pic.twitter.com/NbjlpcJvJQ

— Sally Fitzgibbons (@Sally_Fitz) December 9, 2020

The World Surf League released the following statement:

There will be no competition at the Maui Pro today following a shark incident involving a recreational surfer this morning at Honolua Bay. The WSL is working with authorities and our thoughts are with the victim of this incident. The Maui Pro is on hold until further notice. pic.twitter.com/AGZSkF7wKZ

— World Surf League (@wsl) December 8, 2020

Images showed the man's surfboard with a huge bite mark. 

Pro surfer Bruce Irons was reportedly arrested November 22 and booked for driving under the influence of drugs, possession of a controlled substance without prescription and driving without a valid license.

TMZ Sports reported the news Thursday, citing Newport Beach Police records for the bookings and noting bail was $2,500.

Police said Irons, 39, was passed out in the driver's seat of a running car at a gas station.

He is the younger brother of three-time world surfing champion Andy Irons, who died in 2010 as the result of a drug overdose.

Surfer Today also reported the news, noting those who are convicted of DUI in Newport Beach, California, could face jail time, probation and driver's license suspension and will be enrolled in a California DUI school.

Irons defeated Kelly Slater at the 2001 Billabong Pipeline Masters and also counts the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search Uluwatu title on his resume. Surfer Today called him "one of the best tube riders in the world, and one of the greatest Pipeline riders of all time."

The search for the perfect wave is over. How has the World Surf League created an imitation wave that has impressed even the world's most famous surfers?

Watch above to see how top surfers will be showcasing their talents at the Founders' Cup of Surfing.

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Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa has been crowned with the honour of riding the biggest wave ever.    

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN), the World Surf League confirmed on Saturday that its judges measured the wave Koxa rode on Nov. 8 in Nazare, Portugal, at 80 feet in height. He bettered American Garrett McNamara's 2011 record by two feet. 

Per the AP's report, the World Surf League made the announcement at the Big Wave Awards in Santa Monica, California, and it said: "Not only did Koxa win this year's honor [for biggest wave], but he now holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave surfed."

SURFSlab provided a stunning image of the record-breaking wave:

Congratulations Rodrigo Coxa, winner of the XXL Biggest Wave Award Photo: @rfarinox #surf #gobigorgohome #bigwaves #bigmama #surfing #BigWaveAwards #surfers #wsl pic.twitter.com/z64SMUYt4i

— The Surf Slab (@SURFSlab) April 29, 2018

Koxa said the award was "a dream come true."     

Watch the video above to see how dock surfing could change the sport forever.

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Professional surfer Zander Venezia died at the age of 16 on Tuesday following an accident in the water on the east coast of Barbados. 

Per Matt Pruett of Surfline.com, Venezia was found "bleeding and unresponsive" after being pulled out of the water. He had been driven into the "shallow, rocky bottom" due to a large wave. 

Surf instructor Alan Burke explained to Pruett the situation leading to Venezia's death:

"I'm told that Zander get overturned by a closeout set [a type of wave that can block a surfer's path], where he likely hit bottom. Nathan Florence got to him first, then shouted for the other guys and started to perform CPR. Zander was bleeding, and he wasn't moving. They tried to get him to the beach quickly, which was difficult. 'Box by Box' is a tough place to get in and out of, even if you have the ability. There's lots of big rocks around, and some stick out of the water."

Zander Venezia, Barbados Junior Pro passes after tragic neck injury. Full story: https://t.co/BDJWfsXwaU pic.twitter.com/TU5pSxXrjv

— SURFER (@Surfer) September 5, 2017

Pruett noted Florence was part of a group of pro surfers who went to Barbados to ride the waves generated by Hurricane Irma.

Burke also noted Florence performed CPR on Venezia on the beach. He was "breathing, but not responsive" after paramedics got him to the hospital, Burke told Pruett. 

Burke also shared Venezia's last words before the accident with Pruett.

"He told Dylan, 'I just got the best wave of my life!'" Burke said. "Dylan was the last person to speak to Zander. Then that next closeout set came through."

 

Surfer Mick Fanning had a terrifying encounter with a shark in 2015 and just escaped another close call at the this year's Corona Open J-Bay in South Africa.

After a brief delay, some of the world's best surfers took to the water.  The highlight was Brazilian sensation Filipe Toledo's back-to-back alley-oop which earned him a perfect 10 score.

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Check out the pup who was born to surf and the people she's bringing along the waves with her in the video above.