Pumping Surf for Day One of the 2025 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship

April 25th, 2025

South American trio of Rafael Cortez (CHI), Surfiel Gil (ARG), and Julian Schweizer (URU) puncture dominance of top-seeded nations

Record 143 athletes from 44 nations join in celebrating the Opening Ceremony

Surf City El Salvador – April 25th, 2025

The opening day of the 2025 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship saw a quick start to the event, with the Opening Ceremony preceding the first half of men’s Main Round 1. Clean, solid four-to-six foot lines poured into the ever-consistent right point of El Sunzal, offering big, open faces for many of the world’s best longboarders to begin their campaigns.

A South American trio consisting of Rafael Cortez (CHI), Surfiel Gil (ARG), and Julian Schweizer (URU) managed to puncture the dominance of the top-seeded nations, who took out the remainder of the 11 heats completed today.

Cortez opened with a 7.50 for an extended critical nose-ride across multiple large sections on the outside to take command of his heat from the start. The Chilean claimed a big victory over WSL World No. 3 Johnny Van Hohenstein (HAW), who is competing in his first WLC event as part of a strong Team Hawaii, the defending team gold medalist. No stranger to competing in large surf, Cortez felt right at home, having won the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games bronze medal in similar conditions.

“I’m so stoked to be here and to start off the best way this tournament for me, that is so special,” Cortez said. “The few events I came to I didn’t get maybe the scores I wanted, but now for that reason I was expecting something less. And then when I heard it was a seven, I said, ‘Okay, it’s half of the work done and now I need another one.’ I’m so happy to start the contest off this way and it’s only the first step. So, with my feet on the ground, I’ll just go step-by-step like in the nose ride.”

Rafael Cortez, Team Chile / Photo: Pablo Jimenez

The elastic, classical styling of Gil earned the event veteran a solid win in a heat that also featured Thailand’s first WLC representative, Werawat Kuru. Gil’s steady patience and exceptional footwork allowed him to glide through the high-tide bump with ease, despite his first heat jitters.

“I’m very happy to be here again, very happy,” Gil said. “I’m comfortable with my surfing. I feel very good. I’m looking good. I’m healthy. I’m happy. A little bit nervous, like always, but I’m happy to be here surfing warm, the warm people, the happy people, the new ambience here in El Salvador, which is great to see, the people happy walking on the street. We know how difficult it was for all of them, so it’s very good to see it.”

Familiar names like Lucas Garrido Lecca (PER), António Dantas (POR), Jefson Silva (BRA), and Steven Newton (USA) claimed early wins with clean nose and rail work delivering solid scores. Lecca earned both the highest single wave score (7.67) and highest two-wave heat total (13.84) in his return to competition after a few years away.

New faces to the WLC including Taiki Mori (JPN), Arthur Randell (ENG), and Roland Lefeuvre (FRA) also had strong showings, as did 2023 Copper Medalist Rogelio Esquievel Jr. (PHI), the only previous medal winner to compete today.

Opening Ceremony / Photo: Jersson Barboza

Ahead of the competition, the record 143 athletes, representing 44 nations, joined in celebrating the event’s opening with an exciting ceremony that included the ‘Sands of the World’ tradition, as well as a colorful performance from Fiesta Pueblo. Four nations; Norway, Poland, Tahiti, and Thailand, flew their flags at the WLC for the very first time.

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said:

“Welcome to the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship here in beautiful El Sunzal. This is an incredible event. El Salvador and the ISA have been together for many, many years and we have had some amazing experiences. I love El Sunzal, some of the best longboarding waves in the world are here. I’m sure you all are going to be delivering great scores, enjoying the surf, the camaraderie, the warmth of the people of El Salvador, and the incredible spirit of the ISA World Championships.”

El Salvador Tourism Minister, Morena Valdez, said:

“It’s so wonderful to see so many of your faces once again, I know some of you have been here twice, three times, and it’s always so great to see you. It’s great to hear from you how you love our waves, but most of all how you love the warmth of our people. I’d like to give you a couple things that for me are very important that I’ve seen in every surf tournament. Care and respect. Care because we care for the environment and we care for my home, and that’s what surfers are made of. But also respect. So we can share, in every one of our destinations, each of our waves with others.”

Competition will continue with the remainder of men’s Main Round 1, followed by the beginning of women’s Main Round 1 tomorrow, Saturday, April 26, at 7:00 a.m. CST live on isasurf.org.