The chosen beach had special meaning to Igarashi as it was the same beach that his father Tsutomu not only surfed at, but also reportedly discovered with his friends and called "the Dojo". The selected beach break for the competition was at Tsurigasaki beach in the town of Ichinomiya, Chiba prefecture. The games were postponed to Jdue to the 2019 Coronavirus outbreak. Īs a top ranked finisher of the 2019 WSL CT, Igarashi qualified to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo as a representative of Japan. Igarashi's first 1st-place finish at a WSL CT event was at the Corona Bali Protected event in Indonesia in 2019 he placed 6th overall that year. Open WSL event in his hometown of Huntington Beach two years in a row in 20, but was eliminated early the following year. In 2016 he entered as the youngest rookie to the WSL CT and the first representative surfer for Japan in the WSL. Igarashi won his first surfing trophy by age 7. Tsutomu took his son surfing as young as age 3, and would routinely wake him up to go surfing by 5:45AM so he could still make it to school on time. When his wife Misa found out she was pregnant, the couple quit their jobs in Tokyo and moved to Huntington Beach, California, aka Surf City, with the goal of raising their child to be a competitive surfer. Igarashi's father Tsutomu was a surfer in Japan and an avid fan of the sport himself. His greatest career performance was in the 2019 WSL CT where he won the Corona Bali Protected event and placed 6th place overall that year. In 2016, he was the youngest rookie on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), and had collected more Round One wins than any other surfer, finished 2nd place at the Pipeline event, and 20th place overall that year. Kanoa Igarashi (born October 1, 1997) is a Japanese-American surfer who has competed professionally worldwide since 2012. Huntington Beach, California, United States His father Tsutomu Tom grew up surfing in Japan as a huge fan of the sport.
(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed only the image & headline may have been reworked by surfer (born 1997) Kanoa Igarashi Kanoa Igarashi was born to be a pro surfer. "It gave me time to take a good, long, deep breath before one of the biggest moments in my life," Igarashi said. From navigating COVID-19, to bearing witness to a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in his country of birth to preparing to be one of Japan's Olympic medal hopefuls.Īt least the 12 month postponement for the Tokyo Games has give Igarashi a chance to get gather himself for what is to come. Traditionally, like many part of the world, Japans surf scene has been managed, governed and controlled by the first-generation surfers. "I really didn't think that the Olympics would be held at that surf spot in Chiba," says Igarashi's father, Tsutomo.Īs it has been for most people, the last 12 months have been intense for Igarashi. The Igarashi family have been surfing the waves where Olympic surfing gold will be won for years and no one will know the break better than Kanoa. Igarashi's father, Tsutomu, was the person who originally found the surf break at Tsurigasaki beach in Chiba where the surfing tournament at Tokyo will be held. Those regular trips back to Japan is also where Igarashi gathered the secret weapon he hopes will help him earn an Olympic medal later this month. He would spend his childhood shuttling between California and Tokyo, spurring his love for Japan, surfing and his country of birth. Igarashi was born in Huntington Beach, California to Japanese immigrants. It's shaped me to be the person I am today."
"I'm representing Japan officially, but I really feel like I'm representing America as well. "Yeah, there is going to be a flag next to my name," Igarashi said.
Though in the California born 23-year-old's mind, he'll be representing more than just Japan. Japanese surfer YuTonbi Sumitomo recently sliced his face open riding a hydrofoil board, and big wave pioneer Jamie Mitchell delivered a PSA on the dangers. At the Tokyo Olympics, Kanoa Igarashi will be one of Japan's best medal hopes when he takes part in surfing's debut at the Games.