Kanoa Igarashi Joins Provisional Qualifiers for Tokyo 2020
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) has qualified through the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) to represent Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Following Igarashi’s results at the Quiksilver Pro France, he is guaranteed to finish ahead of his closest rivals for qualification, Ricardo Christie (NZL) and Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), on the WSL Rankings and has earned his provisional place to compete in Tokyo.
“It is an honor to be able to represent Japan in the Olympics,” said Igarashi. “It has been a long year of worrying about qualifying and thinking about how everything will play out, but I am glad everything worked out. Now, I am looking forward to this new goal that I have next year. To win in Tokyo is a huge goal of mine. With this news today, I am one step closer to it. I am proud to be going to the Olympics and being able to be a part of a huge moment in our sport and for my country.”
Igarashi, 22 from Huntington Beach, CA, has been surfing since the age of three after his parents immigrated to the USA from Japan to give their son the best chance at becoming a pro surfer. Igarashi became a top-ranked amateur and qualified for the CT in 2015. At the age of 18, he was the youngest rookie on Tour in 2016 and collected more Round One wins than any surfer. He went on to claim his first CT win in Bali this year. Igarashi, who holds dual citizenship, is proudly representing Japan on the global stage.
Surfing will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2020 and the 2019 WSL CT, the elite year-long tour that crowns the World Champions each season, will be an important qualification pathway for the world's best surfers.
The next call for the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be tomorrow morning, October 18, at 8:00 a.m. WEST (GMT+1) for a possible 8:35 a.m. start at Supertubos.
The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners.