Englands Ben Skinner makes finals day.
El Salvador once again delivered for day 4 of the 2024 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship, with perfect conditions filling Surf City’s crown jewel, the right point of El Sunzal. Four-to-six foot lines allowed the world’s best longboarders to showcase their skills as they fought to progress into tomorrow’s Finals Day.
Japan was able to set themselves apart on top of the leaderboard, the only team to maintain all four surfers this deep into the draw. Both surfers on their men’s team, Taka Inoue and Kai Hamase, progressed to remain two of the four surfers in the Main Event Final, while Natsumi Taoka made it into the women’s Main Event Final. The 2018 Copper Medalist has been truly enjoying each of her heats, as well as her experience as a part of the team.
“I think teamwork is the best. It’s actually the first time that we’re all staying together in one big house,” Taoka said. “We’re eating meals all the time together, I think it’s worth it. With a 25-minute heat, I feel like I have a lot of time and I was happy to get two really good waves and then make a score. I try not to think about medals. I just try to get really good waves and then focus on performance.”
Hiroka Yoshikawa (JPN) was the only member of Team Japan to be sent to the repechage after an extremely tight women’s Main Event Round 4 heat that saw just 0.37 separating the top three surfers. The two advancing surfers, 2013 Silver Medalist Rachael Tilly (USA) and 2023 Copper Medalist Zoé Grospiron (FRA), had equal 13.00 heat totals, Tilly taking the win on the basis of the highest wave score of the heat, as well as the round, a 7.27. Though a last minute wave from Yoshikawa seemed like it might be enough to keep her in the Main Event, the veteran competitor was sent into repechage along with 2023 Silver Medalist Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER).
The men put their bodies on the line as multiple tight heats drove performance levels right to the end of the extremely long rides that El Sunzal was providing. Japan’s Taka Inoue finished two incredible rides right on the rocks even after Carlos Bahia (BRA) had smashed his board and body by committing to the final section, the pair winning the two heats of men’s Main Event Round 5. The 2023 Silver Medalist, Bahia is determined to go one better in 2024, and was confident after progressing into the Main Event Final, along with Inoue, Edouard Delpero (FRA) and Kai Hamase (JPN).
“First of all I want to thank El Salvador for putting on this great event at El Sunzal,” Bahia said. “I’m in search of that gold medal for me and also for Brazil. I was close enough to taste the gold last year, so that’s why I’m giving it my all now.”
Many big names either fell into repechage or were eliminated after a long day of tight battles. 2019 World Champion Benoit ‘Piccolo’ Clemente (PER) was eliminated early in the day by his protege Sebastian Cardenas (PER), who also fell out of the draw in his next heat. Meanwhile 2018 Gold Medalist and 2023 WSL Champion Kai Sallas (HAW) was sent to repechage by his protege Kaniela Stewart (HAW), who himself is now also in repechage. Sallas posted the highest heat total of the day, 16.50, after a blistering performance in Repechage Round 6 that saw him going blow-for-blow with two-time Silver Medalist Ben Skinner (ENG).
Both Brazilian women, Atalanta Batista and Luana Soares, and both Australian women Tully White and Kirra Molnar, were eliminated, along with event standout, 11-year-old Ginger Caimi (ITA).
The back-to-back defending champion, Alice Le Moigne (FRA), turned in the highest single wave score of the event in her Repechage Round 4 heat after soul-arching her way through a long, critical nose ride that earned her a near-perfect 9.77. Her two wave heat total was also the highest so far for the women, 16.44.
“I’m super happy to surf with that wind, because it was super hard for the girls to surf with the wind (yesterday) because there was so much bump,” Le Moigne said. “I had so much fun out there. I was just thinking about free-surfing, so it was super fun.”
Competition will continue Thursday April 25 at 7 a.m. local time El Salvador live on isasurf.org.
England Skindog through to round four, Englands Ben Howey and Irelands Tom Breen through to rep 5.
Englands Emily Currie and Irelands Bea Greenberg through to womens rep 3.
Beautiful, clean four-to-six foot lines of swell set the stage for an incredible day of longboard surfing that saw high-profile match-ups deliver a full day of exciting action at Surf City El Salvador’s El Sunzal. Main Event Round 3 was completed in both men’s and women’s divisions, while women’s Repechage Rounds 2 and 3 and men’s Repechage Rounds 3 and 4 were also held.
Four teams maintain their status on top of the rankings, each with four surfers still in the draw. France, Brazil and the Philippines are tied with Japan, who has the strongest advantage as the only nation with all four surfers continuing in the Main Event.
he heat of the event so far featured 2023 Bronze Medalist Edouard Delpero (FRA), 2019 Gold Medalist Benoit ‘Piccolo’ Clemente (PER) and WSL Longboard Tour standout Declan Wyton (AUS). The surfers capitalized on the incredible morning conditions, showcasing an impressive range of rail and nose work. The heat totals from all three were amongst the highest of the event so far, with each posting scores well into the excellent range, including the highest single wave score of the event so far (9.23) and highest heat total (17.40) from heat winner Delpero. After a long wait on the sand for final scores, Wyton advanced in second, just 0.03 ahead of Clemente, who was relegated to repechage.
Delpero was able to find his event-high score on the second wave of a set, directly behind Wyton, who took the first wave, in a tense final exchange that left Clemente sitting alone in the lineup with over two minutes left on the clock.
“It was supposed to be a hard heat for sure on paper, but in the water I really know Declan and Piccolo well and I know what they are able to do on the waves,” Delpero said. “I got lucky on the last exchange that flipped to me in a really good position. I knew there was a second one, I was just trying to see what Declan would do and let him make his choice and then when he started paddling I knew there was something bigger behind and hopefully not a third one, you know, just to make sure you close the heat like this. Then when I saw the wave I knew there was a potential line so I’m stoked to surf it through and make the score.”
Multiple strong heats filled out the rest of men’s Main Event Round 3, with highlights coming from Japan’s Kai Hamase and Taka Inoue, along with Kaniela Stewart (HAW), 2023 Copper Medalist Rogelio Esquievel Jr (PHI), and 2010 World Champion Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA).
A challenging bump arrived during the women’s Main Event Round 3 heats, making it hard to find high scores. For the most part experience paid off as 2013 Open Junior Gold Medalist Honolua Blomfield (HAW), 2023 Silver Medalist Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER), 2013 Silver Medalist Rachael Tilly (USA) and 2018 Copper Medalist Natsumi Taoka (JPN) each took heat wins. The exception was back-to-back defending champion Alice Le Moigne (FRA), who was sent to repechage after a strong performance from Sive Jarrard (ASA) saw Le Moigne knocked into third place after the buzzer by Reyes and Jarrard.
Blomfield, the three-time WSL Longboard Champion, found the best of the day, expertly navigating the conditions to earn an 8.00, the highest single wave score for the women, as well as the highest heat total, 12.83.
“I feel like I definitely tend to deal with conditions like these at home,” Blomfield said. “I’ve had to just go for it a lot of my life at Pipeline, for instance, or Pupukea, the big sandbars. I try to go out as big as possible, so I’m used to the bump and backwash. But that was a challenge out there I’ve got to say. I love (competing in the ISA). I think it’s a really cool aspect of team surfing, we don’t get that most of the year. I got the call and I was like, ‘Oh my god, yes, I’ll go, of course.’”
Blomfield’s teammate Kelis Kaleopa’a was the first to be eliminated from the exceptionally strong Team Hawaii. The 2023 WSL World Title runner-up, Kaleopa’a was knocked out in the first heat of the day along with Germany’s Mascha Trietsch by veteran Filipino competitor Daisy Valdez and Mexico’s 16-year-old rising star Coral Bonilla. Bonilla styled her way across the first ride of the day, a large set wave that delivered her multiple critical nose-ride sections to earn a 7.33. Valdez also found a solid set wave, earning an even better 7.40 to take the heat win, the pair moving into Repechage Round 4.
Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist Lia Diaz (CRC) also found a critical heat win to continue in repechage, as did Emily Currie (ENG) and Anne Albers (NED).
Competition will continue Wednesday April 24 at 7 a.m. local time El Salvador live on isasurf.org.
