Olympic qualification race heats up on the World Surf League Championship Tour with a further 10 slots up for grabs in final two events
California – July 19, 2023
The ISA is pleased to confirm the first four men to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games through the World Surf League Championship Tour (WSL CT) after the conclusion of the Corona Open J-Bay in South Africa.
The 2023 CT awards Paris 2024 qualification slots to the top 10 men and top 8 women, with a limit of two surfers per gender, per nation.
Reigning WSL Champion Filipe Toledo (BRA), Griffin Colapinto (USA), and Ethan Ewing (AUS) have each qualified for their very first Olympic Games, while Tokyo 2020 Olympian Leonardo Fioravanti will again join the Italian Olympic team for Paris 2024.
It was fitting that Toledo became the first Brazilian man to secure a Paris 2024 slot. The 28-year-old narrowly missed qualification for Tokyo 2020 after placing third on the CT rankings in 2019, directly behind two of his Brazilian compatriots Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina.
Two more events remain on the CT calendar to determine the remaining 6 men’s and 4 women’s slots available. Fittingly, many will be claimed at the Olympic Surfing location of Teahupo’o during the final main season CT event, the Shiseido Tahiti Pro in August. It’s possible that there will also be slots left to capture at the World Champion crowning event, the Rip Curl WSL Finals, in September in California.
The most competitive slots are currently being sought by Australian and American women and Brazilian men.
Eight-time WSL Champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Stephanie Gilmore is looking to catch up to Molly Picklum and two-time WSL Champion Tyler Wright in the battle for the two available slots for Australian women, while defending Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Caroline Marks and rookie sensation Caitlin Simmers are each attempting to secure their positions on Team USA, as is veteran competitor Lakey Peterson.
Jeffreys Bay delivered a shock for Italo Ferreira, who fell out early due to injury, leaving him with a very slim chance to defend his Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024. Meanwhile, the single available slot left for Brazilian men is going to be hotly contested. Both João Chianca and Yago Dora are currently placed in the top 5, but three-time WSL Champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Gabriel Medina is hot on their heels.
All earned slots are provisional until a final announcement after the closing of the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games. All qualification places are subject to nomination by the respective National Olympic Committee (NOC) and each surfer meeting the ISA Olympic Eligibility Requirements.
