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Kanoa Igarashi took 5th place at the Tahiti Pro 2022 (C) WSL/Ryder Getty = Kyodo
There are only six months left until the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris on July 26th. Men’s Kanoa Igarashi (26 = Kinoshita Group), who won a silver medal in surfing at the Tokyo 2021 Games, has already secured his second Olympic ticket and can’t wait to win his long-awaited gold medal. The story takes place on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia in the South Pacific, about 15,700 kilometers from Paris. This is his second appearance on the big stage of the “Sea of Destiny,” which he first visited at the age of 12.
In December 2019, the surfing venue for the Paris Olympics was chosen. Igarashi thought about the deep bond he had with Teahupoo.
“As a child, I never dreamed that the Olympics would be held here. I don’t even know why I went to training every year. Maybe someone told me that one day the Olympics would be held here.”
This sacred place is admired by surfers from all over the world and during the season tube waves (tubular waves) of 2 to 3 meters and up to 7 meters are generated, which can be life-threatening. When he first visited the sea, where even top athletes risk their lives, he was twelve years old and said: “I only weighed about 40 kilograms.”
“It had so much power that I almost drowned. I never wanted to come back. That’s how scary it was.” Even though he was a child prodigy, winning 30 National Student Union (NSSA)-sponsored tournaments by the age of 11, the fear remained in his mind. When he returned home, he explained to his mother, Misako, “I don’t want to go there again.” However, the decision he made afterwards became a turning point in his surfing life.
“You can’t hide in your room. If you want to become a professional one day, you have to persevere even in difficult, frightening waves. Back then it was important to overcome fear.”
I continued to attend school the following year and gradually overcame my fear. Igarashi, adopting a normal stance (left foot forward), is considered to be at a disadvantage as he is forced to ride with his back to the waves, but he scored 9.70 points (out of 10) in Round 10 of the Championship Tour . (CT) in August 2022. ) Mark the ultimate high score. He is now considered one of the gold medal candidates.
In 2022, the year after the Tokyo Olympics, he achieved a record-breaking fifth place overall in the CT and won his first World Games (WG = World Championship equivalent) in September. He achieved the best result of his career. On the other hand, he finished 14th in CT in 2023 and fell out of the top 10 after four seasons. From the outside looking in, it was a season of Olympic anxiety, but Igarashi himself felt differently.
“Over the course of a year, I changed a total of about 15 things. The biggest thing is the board. I changed the material and design (shape) and made it lighter than before. Coach, nutrition, training, mental health.” . I also changed my training. It’s a big risk, but I’ve adapted it not just for the Olympics, but for the next five, six years of my career.”
From 23 years of solidifying our foothold to 24 years of searching for results. He says he is “95%” confident of winning the gold medal. What about the remaining 5%? The answer is also clear. “I’m ready, but I’m never 100% sure when surfing because nature is my opponent. But I don’t think I can be any better prepared.”
Do your best in human affairs and wait for your fate. I believed in the day I would catch the golden wave on the Sea of Destiny that I had been on since I was 12 years old. (Rei Abe)
Igarashi’s first race of 2024 will be the first round of the CT, Pipe Pro (starts the 29th, Hawaii, USA). After the second race in February (same) he will take part in the WG (starting on February 22nd in Puerto Rico), where he will be officially selected as a representative of the Paris Olympics. Afterwards the 6th CT race will take place in Teahupoo (starting on May 22nd) and then the actual Olympic Games (competition schedule from July 27th to 30th).
◇Kanoa Igarashi Born October 1, 1997 (Heisei 9), 26 years old, from California, USA. Due to his parents’ influence, he began competing at the age of 3. At age 9, he was named a designated player for the United States Amateur Team. He turned professional at the age of 13 and has been competing in CT, the highest level of professional competition, since 2016. In 2018 he changed his registration to Japan and achieved his first CT victory in May 2019. Silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 WG Championship. He has been attending Harvard Business School (graduate school) since September last year. Kanoa is a Hawaiian word meaning “freedom”. 1 meter 80, 78 kg.
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