France’s Roseyro and Carpentier Set the Pace in SUP Surfing

Dreams come true for 14-year-old second generation competitor Sofia Finer (MEX)

2023 Santiago Pan American Games qualification on the line for Lucia Cosoleto (ARG)

San Juan, Puerto Rico – November 2nd 2022

A huge day of competition saw the field drastically narrowed for SUP Surfing on day five of the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship. San Juan’s La Ocho continued to provide rippable 3-to-4 foot surf in Puerto Rico’s tropical paradise.

USA have won three out of four gold medals so far in the event, but defending Team champions France are up to the challenge. Their two representatives in men’s SUP Surfing, Clement Roseyro and Benoit Carpentier, drew each other in Round 3, Heat 1.

Beginning with the game plan of splitting the peak, regular-footed Carpentier changed strategy and took a left, to the confusion of goofy-footed Roseyro. That decision resulted in Roseyro collecting the second wave of the set, which turned out to be the best wave of the day, an 8.57, on the strength of a vertical tail drift, connected straight into a beautiful, drawn-out, wrapping cutback.

The two Frenchmen progressed in the Main Round, along with the two representatives of USA (Zane Schweitzer and Bernd Roediger) and Brazil (Luiz Diniz and Leonardo Gimenes) to make up the six surfers remaining in Men’s Main Round 4.

In the Women’s Main Round, 2019 SUP Surfing copper medalist Vania Torres (PER) found her form with a solid heat win. Kaede Inoue (JPN) and Aline Adisaka (BRA) also won their respective heats, while Pan Am 2019 Gold Medalist Isabella Gomez (COL) found the highest single wave score (7.57) for the second day in a row and combined it with a 6.17 for the highest heat total (13.67).

Dreams come true for 14-year-old second generation competitor Sofia Finer (MEX)

The youngest competitor in Women’s SUP Surfing, Sofia Finer (MEX), was over the moon to progress through her Repechage Round 1 heat.

“Coming here to ISA has been one of my dreams since I was like 1-years-old or something and to finally be here at 14 is just amazing,” Finer said. “The team is amazing and it’s just great, I love it.”

While the length of Finer’s dreams may seem like an exaggeration, in this case it’s likely true. Both of her parents competed in the event together over a decade ago in Lima, Peru.

2023 Santiago Pan American Games qualification on the line for Lucia Cosoleto (ARG)

Lucia Cosoleto (ARG) was happy to continue through the Main Round after a tight heat, increasing her chances of qualifying for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

“This is a super important event for me because it is a qualifier for Santiago 2023,” Cosoleto said. “I had the opportunity to compete at Lima 2019 and it was such an incredible experience. I would be so proud to be able to represent Argentina in Santiago.”

The top ranked four women and four men, capped at one surfer per nation, will qualify for Santiago 2023 out of the SUP Surfing discipline. Seven women and eight men kept their qualification hopes alive today:

Women: Aline Adisaka (BRA), Candice Appleby (USA), Lucia Cosoleto (ARG), Isabella Gomez (COL), Brissa Malaga (PER), Gabriela Sztamfater (BRA), Vania Torres (PER)

Men: Dave De Armas (PUR), Luiz Diniz (BRA), Leonardo Gimenes (BRA), Tamil Martino (PER), Felipe Rodríguez (MEX), Bernd Roediger (USA), Zane Schweitzer (USA), Max Torres (PUR)

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:

“We can now see the impact of creating a better world through surfing as second generation SUP athletes rise through the ranks of the surfing community. It is incredible to think of the opportunities that await these young men and women as the sport continues to develop.

“I’m excited to watch the SUP surfing finals tomorrow and to see who wins those coveted places at the Pan Am Games.”