Canada’s great hope, Pete Devries, injured in lead up to Final Olympic Qualifier
Pete Devries has officially withdrawn from the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador May 29-June 6, which is the Final Qualifier for Surfing’s first inclusion at the Olympic Games.
Devries, Team Canada Captain, is sidelined by an injury sustained during training at home in Tofino, and he will not be fully recovered in time to compete for one of the five available Olympic spots for Tokyo.
“…obviously losing Pete is a massive blow to our Olympic program, however I feel our team will rally together and this may just provide the extra motivation needed to carry our surfers over the qualification line” said Dom Domic, Surf Canada’s High-Performance Director.
Devries will be replaced by Tofino’s Kalum Temple (21 years old), as he is currently the highest-ranked eligible surfer from the Canadian Olympic Pathway Team Selection Trials.
Kalum is currently in El Salvador, preparing with the National team as an alternate and upon hearing the news of getting the call up expressed “I am shocked to hear that Pete is out due to an injury. However, I am super grateful for this opportunity to represent Canada in the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers and I am so fired up to compete against some of the world best and have a shot at Tokyo”.
Devries stated “I hope I’m cheering on someone from the Canadian team in the Olympics in a few months.”
Pete Devries, is globally regarded as Canada’s best surfer and arguably the best cold-water surfer on the planet. With an era defining list of accomplishments, including but not limited to: 2009 ASP Cold Water Classic Champion, 2018 ISA #11 World Ranking, 9 Canadian Titles, 1st and only Canadian to get the coveted cover page of Surfer Magazine (Bible of the Sport), only Canadian to ever be named to the SurferMag Top 100 Global Juniors ranking (twice), as well as enviable body of work in monthly features and content in various premium publications and films. Devries has firmly established his name in the worldwide surf community as amongst the very best.
