Surprise Standouts And Expected Dominance At Olympic Qualifiers
Day 1 highlights from the ISA games in El Salvador
Are the ISA games significant? I think so. Sure they might seem a little funky given the variance in track records amongst competitors, but they’re still a crucial step in the Olympic path. Above is a quick highlight reel from Day 1 in El Salvador; let’s have a look:
Eithan Osborne (Israel) connected a three-pack of backside turns, which are also three more reasons I’ll have to add to my “Why Eithan Osborne is my favorite surfer” list. That combo intimidated everyone except for the protruding boulder parked on the inside.
Gabriel Medina (Brazil) and Italo Ferreira (Brazil) were spotted doing effortless full rotations, as expected. Felipe Toledo won his first heat by over 10 points and currently has the two top-scoring waves of the event thus far. I want Team USA to win, but I’m putting all of my Reais on team Brazil if Olympic gambling becomes normalized.
On the women’s side, Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil) looked sharp as ever. It’s also worth noting the consecutive snaps from Alyssa Spencer (USA) at 2:39, which gave her the highest scoring heat for day 1 of the women’s contest. Do you move that much water on your backhand? I sure don’t.
Worth noting: A 17-year-old from Florida named Ryan Huckabee (USA), one of three teens which Stab’s very own Michael Ciaramella felt the need to cast doubt upon, is on a bit of heater. Back-to-back first-place finishes and even slipped past CT veteran Julian Wilson (AUS) in the process. The “Kid” came to play. Let’s see if he can handle the storm of full rotations.
Watch the full recap here.
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