West Australian Willow Hardy at home in the heavy conditions
Disappearing act delivers John John Rabinovitch (ISR) last second pass
Rising Brazilian stars Isabella Nalu and Laura Raupp give hope to team
Surf City, El Salvador – June 3rd 2022
There have been multiple contenders in the race for Team Gold throughout the ISA World Juniors in El Salvador, but it was the Irukandjis (Team Australia) who emerged in pole position after Repechage Rounds 4 and 5 were wrapped in each division.
Highlighting the day for the Irukandjis was West Australian Willow Hardy. At home in heavy conditions, Hardy was excited to take on the increase in size at La Bocana for the Girls U-16 division.
“I’m just so grateful that El Salvador is proving the sickest waves and those waves are my favorite,” Hardy said. “It’s so similar to home. I’m just so psyching that we get perfect lefts.”
Hardy also believes that the Irukandjis have what it takes to bring home gold.
“Yesterday was definitely a hard day for Team Irukandji but we’re going to ‘bring the sting’ in the repechage. I reckon we’ve got this,” Hardy said. “Our team trained at the HPC (High Performance Centre) before and really got to know each other. I reckon having a strong team bond is really important as well. Seeing them down there with the tunnel of love after every heat really motivates you.”