Sanoa Olin Becomes First Canadian Olympic Surfer Amid Erin Brooks Scandal

At Tokyo 2020, in which surfing debuted in the Olympic Games, Canada was absent.

There were surfers from Brazil, the USA, Australia, Japan, Peru, France, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Morocco, Israel, Germany, and others – but no Canada.

That will change, however, at Paris 2024, in which surfing will be held at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, and Sanoa Olin has just provisionally qualified to surf for Team Canada.

While competing in the Pan American Games, held at Punta de Lobos in Pichilemu, Chile, and put on by the International Surfing Association (ISA), Olin secured her slot.

The competition is just one of the many ways that a surfer can qualify for the Paris 2024 Games (see below for full qualification hierarchy).

“I feel amazing,” said Olin after provisionally qualifying. “I’m so happy right now. It’s a dream come true and I’m so grateful for everyone who supported me…my whole team and my family.”

And just recently, Olin got some practice in at Chopes.

Looming over Olin’s qualification, there’s the drama surrounding 16-year-old surfing phenom Erin Brooks, and her failed bid to represent Canada as a potential Olympic competitor. She was born in Texas, raised in Hawaii, but her father holds dual citizenship with Canada and the USA.

Most recently, Brooks was officially denied citizenship.

For a refresher, here’s the hierarchy on how surfers qualify for the Olympics:

1. 2023 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour: First 10 eligible men and first 8 eligible women.

2. 2023 ISA World Surfing Games: 4 men and 4 women selected based on their continent. Top finishing eligible surfer of each gender from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

3. 2023 Pan American Games: First eligible man and first eligible woman in the surfing competitions.

4. 2024 ISA World Surfing Games: First 5 eligible men and first 7 eligible women.

5. 2024 ISA World Surfing Games: The winning teams by gender, will qualify 1 place for their respective country/NOC, regardless of the 2-per country quota limit.

6. 2022 ISA World Surfing Games: The winning teams by gender, will qualify 1 place for their respective country/NOC, regardless of the 2-per country quota limit.

7. Host nation slot: One man and one woman slot will be guaranteed for the host nation of France, unless already filled through the above hierarchies. Should athletes from France qualify regularly, their slots will be reallocated to the highest ranked eligible surfers from the 2024 World Surfing Games.

8. Universality Place: For the first time, one place per gender will be made available to eligible NOCs. Special consideration will be given to the nature of the wave in Teahupoo in terms of the eligibility criteria for these places. Should there deemed to be no qualified surfers in this category, these slots will be reallocated to the highest ranked eligible surfers from the 2024 World Surfing Games The complete process and selection criteria for these places will be communicated by the IOC at a later date.

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