This July, 40 surfers will make history and compete in surfing’s Olympic debut in Tokyo with 20 women and 20 men representing a total of 17 countries.
The 2020 games are a huge moment for surfing to be recognised and our Surfing NSW team are proud that three of the four Australian surfers have come through the Surfing NSW pathway.
NSW surfers Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons and Steph Gilmore will all compete in the event at Tsurigasaki Beach around 40 miles outside of Tokyo.
The Olympic Surf Competition window is Sunday 25th July to Monday 2nd August. Within this time period the surfing competition needs only four days in total to run. Based on all early forecasts, there is a strong likelihood that the event will begin on Sunday morning. Click here to see the entire surf forecast.
For the competition format, schedule, qualified surfers list and heat draw click here. https://isasurf.org/event/tokyo-2020/#
Where to watch
To watch, go to 7plus.com.au and download the app on your phone or mobile TV. See the competition schedule here and consume surfing content here.
Not in Australia? To find out which provider is broadcasting the competition in your country, click here.
Also, Tokyo’s time zone is Japan Standard Time, which is only one hour behind Australian Eastern Standard Time, making it a very accessible Olympics for us to watch. Channel 7 is the television network showing all the action. The official Olympic surfing schedule can be found here.
The Australian Olympic Surf team is named the “Irukandjis”.
Follow each of the Irukandjis surfers.
Owen Wright
Born in Culburra, NSW now resides in Lennox Head, NSW
https://www.instagram.com/owright/
Julian Wilson
Born in Sunshine Coast, QLD now resides in Newcastle, NSW
https://www.instagram.com/julian_wilson/
Sally Fitzgibbons
Born and resides in Gerroa, NSW
https://www.instagram.com/sally_fitz/
Stephanie Gilmore
Born and resides in Tweed Heads, NSW
https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegilmore/
About the Irukandjis.
For the first time, Australian representatives across all surfing genres, including Junior, Open, Masters, Olympic, Longboard, Big Wave, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) and Adaptive disciplines, will compete under The Irukandjis national identity and united colours at international events such as the Olympics, International Surfing Association (ISA), World Surfing Games, WSL World Juniors and Longboard Championships.
Qualified Surfers
Below are the twenty men and twenty women surfing for Gold. They’ve qualified through two avenues: the World Surf League championship tour and the World Surfing Games.
While you have probably heard of most of them, I can guarantee you there are a few surprises, including surfers from Germany, Israel and Argentina.
Australia: Sally Fitzgibbons, Stephanie Gilmore, Julian Wilson, Owen Wright
USA: Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, John John Florence, Kolohe Andino
Brazil: Tatiana Weston-Webb, Silvana Lima, Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira
Japan: Mahina Maeda, Amuro Tsuzuki, Kanoa Igarashi, Hiroto Ohhara
France: Johanne Defay, Pauline Ado, Jeremy Flores, Michel Bourez
Peru: Daniella Rosas, Sofia Mulanovich, Lucca Mesinas, Miguel Tudela
Portugal: Teresa Bonvalot, Yolanda Sequeria, Frederico Morais
South Africa: Bianca Buitendag, Jordy Smith
New Zealand: Ella Williams, Billy Stairmand
Costa Rica: Brisa Hennessy, Leilani McGonagle
Israel: Anat Lelior
Ecuador: Dominic Barona
Germany: Leon Glatzer
Indonesia: Rio Waida
Morocco: Ramzi Boukhiam
Argentina: Leandro Usuna
Chile: Manuel Selman
Key information around Surfing in the Olympics.
10 facts on Surfing’s Olympic Debut https://isasurf.org/10-things-about-surfings-debut-tokyo-2020/
How the Olympic surfing competition works: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/videos/one-minute-one-sport-surfing
State of Olympic Surfing ISA video series: https://isasurf.org/state-of-olympic-surfing-series/
Official Surfing Olympics.com mini site https://olympics.com/en/sports/surfing/
Surfing Australia Irukandjis team Social channel https://www.instagram.com/theirukandjis/
Following the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the next time surfing will make an appearance in the games will be in France in 2024, followed by the USA in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.
With world-class surfing locations and a huge pipeline of NSW junior talent, we are excited about surfing’s Olympic future.
