Surfing Costa Rica - World Championship in El Salvador will have 52 nations vying for 12 Olympic spots
257 surfers will be seeking a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
257 surfers from 52 countries across all continents of the world are ready to meet at the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Surfing Games 2021 from May 29 to June 6 in the coastal city of El Tunco.
This will be the largest number of athletes competing in the modern era of the event, which since 2013 has had its divisions shortened to include only Men's and Women's shortboard. The increased participation comes with 12 Olympic berths up for grabs—7 for women, 5 for men—with surfers from around the world vying for their place on the world's biggest sporting stage at Tokyo 2020.
The 121 women, comprising 47% of the participants, have broken a record for female participation in the World Surfing Games for the third consecutive year. In 2019, 103 women made up 42% of the participants.
Competing alongside the world's best surfers, the ISA also welcomes two nations to the event for the first time ever: Algeria and Ukraine. Ukraine recently joined the ISA as its 109th member nation, while a new entity, Club Des Sports De Glisse, was appointed as Algeria's official National Federation. Both teams will send surfers to join the global surfing community and pursue their chance to qualify for the Olympics.
Other non-traditional surfing nations will also make their presence felt, exemplifying the sport's growing global reach. Countries such as Afghanistan, American Samoa, Iran, Senegal, and Guatemala will register athletes to surf for their national teams.
Credits: International Surfing Association (ISA).
