CHIBA, JAPAN (FOLHAPRESS) — Italo Ferreira, the eventual surfing world champion in 2019, celebrated the unprecedented achievement, but he always made it clear he didn’t intend to stop there. In 2020, Potiguar already wanted the bi-championship of the WSL (World Surf League) and was planning to win an Olympic medal at the start of the game at the Games.
The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed both the plans by a year, but that hasn’t dampened their ambitions. To finally inaugurate the history of surfing at the Olympics in Tokyo-2020, he left the Tsurigasaki (Japan) sea this Tuesday (27) with the right to put the gold medal on his chest.
In the decision, which saw him break his board in the first maneuver, Italo corrected and defeated the Japanese Kanoa Igarashi, Gabriel Medina’s suffering in the semi-finals, and avoided a national clash in the decision. Medina lost the bronze medal to Owen Wright.
“To compete for everything is also an ambition, a desire that is huge and that’s why I haven’t stopped to this day. When I get there, at the end of the competitions, I’ll see how much I devoted myself and Italo. In October last year Folha de S Paulo told the newspaper that it was all worthwhile efforts ??, with the world circuit paralyzed by the coronavirus.
After six WSL rounds in 2021, he is only second in the rankings behind Medina, who leads. This year, will the champion be defined after a single knockout? with the top five after eight stages.
Competing in four consecutive stages in Australia and one in the US, he spent nearly four months away from his home in Baia Formosa (RN). So, before moving to Japan, he set foot in the city to regain his energy and spend time with family and friends. He wanted to be able to surf all day without pressure, as he told him just before boarding.
Tsurigasaki’s sea conditions are usually similar to those of Baya Formosa, and he will try to take advantage of this factor that he already had in mind.
??I think about the Olympics a lot, I wonder how can it be if I can achieve what I want. I dream, but I live a lot in the present. There is anxiety, but there is also peace, there is a lot of confidence. Wow, I think I’m ready?, he said.
Surfers worry, waves on the beach in the town of Ichinomiya in Chiba Prefecture, about 100 km from Tokyo, were contrary to early expectations and were bigger on Tuesday. Contestants also scored high in Ariel.
The day started with cloud cover, rain and strong wind, but in the morning the sun opened up. Predictions that a tropical storm could disrupt the progress of the competitions meant that the final, which would take place on Wednesday (28), ended a day early.
