"You're out there in mother ocean and anything can happen" Mathea Olin competed at the Canadian National Surf Championships in Tofino, B.C., on May 12. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Canada isn't known as a top surfing country— but that could soon change. Tofino surfer Mathea Olin,16, made history recently in Peru. She...
Peruvian teammates Lucca Mesinas and Daniella Rosas were crowned Shortboard Gold Medalists at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games on Sunday, which makes them almost certain to earn qualification slots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
PUNTA ROCAS, Peru — Surfer Mathea Olin floated on her longboard Sunday off the Punta Rocas beach, watching the ocean and waiting for the right moment to make her move.
The 10-foot waves that were consistent through the morning and early in her 30-minute heat at the Pan Am Games had gone quiet.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. With the clock ticking, Olin eventually found some late waves but couldn’t score enough points to catch Peruvian opponent Maria Fernanda Reyes.
LIMA, Peru — Surfers Kevin Schulz of the United States and Cody Young of Canada made history on Monday as the first competitors in the ocean during the sport’s debut in the Pan American Games.
Young earned 10.43 points to Schulz’s 7.50 at Punta Rocas beach, a reef break located about 38 miles (60 kilometers) south of the Peruvian capital of Lima. Surfing will also make its Olympic debut next year in Tokyo, and is one of the “wait and see” sports at the Pan Am Games. That means top man and woman surfers not yet qualified for the Olympics will earn a spot, although the top finishers from the Pan Ams won’t be confirmed until May 2020.
Tokyo 2020 will be the first Olympics to feature surfing on the programme
LIMA, Peru — One of the sports making its Olympic debut next year is creating waves so large they’re being felt in Peru — and two Canadian athletes are hoping to ride them all the way to Tokyo.
Surfers Cody Young and Bethany Zelasko are in Lima at the Pan Am Games, where the shortboard event they are competing in offers direct qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games.
