The national team's Olympic qualification will depend on several circumstances.

Today the WSL announced that Carlos Muñoz will be able to compete in the third CT 2023 stop in Portugal, thanks to the wildcard he has this season.

Muñoz is currently ranked #24 after two events, opening up two interesting possibilities: first, qualification for the second half of the tour after the mid-year cutoff, and therefore requalification for the 2024 CT. Second, a potential Olympic qualification; however, several scenarios must unfold for this to happen, which we will outline below.

Before we begin outlining the scenarios, let's clarify the Olympic qualification process via the CT. The top 10 male and 8 female athletes in the 2023 World Tour rankings will qualify, provided the country's quota of 2 competitors is not exceeded. Now that this is clear, let's move on to what the Costa Rican athlete needs to achieve his Olympic dream.

1- Carlos Muñoz continued to receive wildcards for replacement and managed to compete in the two Australian dates, the last dates before the mid-year cut.

2- Muñoz must try to accumulate as many points as possible in these three remaining events to qualify for the second part of the tour. This will be crucial to improving his ranking and directly competing for a spot. It will also guarantee his requalification for the 2024 CT.

3- Based on the current scenario: “Cali”, currently occupies the #24 position in the CT ranking and is the #12 Olympic slot, therefore he must try to place himself at the end of the world tour above the Japanese Kanoa Igarashi and the Indonesian Rio Waida, both currently in the #16 position of the CT ranking and in the #9 and #10 Olympic slots respectively.

Male athletes qualified for Paris 2024 to date:

1- Jack Robinson (AUS)

2- Filipe Toledo (BRA)

3- Joao Chianca (BRA)

4- Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)

5- Griffin Colapinto (USA)

6- John John Florence (USA)

7- Ethan Ewing (AUS)

8- Jordy Smith (ZAF)

9- Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)

10- Kanoa Igarashi (JAP)

11- Waida River (IND)

12- Carlos Muñoz (CRI)

13- Maxime Huscenot (FRA)

14- Ramzi Boukhiam - injured (MAR)

4- Carlos will also have to make sure he finishes ahead of Frenchman Maxime Huscenot, who could take an Olympic spot and leave the Costa Rican out.

The scenarios are possible and "Cali" is undoubtedly focused on taking it one step at a time and achieving the Olympic feat.

In the women's case, with Brisa Hennessy, the Costa Rican is virtually qualified for the Olympics, provided the current CT ranking remains the same.

Women's qualification for Paris 2024, up to the second date of the world tour:

1- Carissa Moore (USA)

2- Molly Picklum (AUS)

3- Tyler Wright (AUS)

4- Gabriela Bryan (USA)

5- Brisa Hennessy (CRI)

6- Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)

7- Teresa Bonvalot (POR)

8- Johanne Defay (FRA)

 

The options are on the table and the surfers know the qualifying landscape, therefore there is no doubt that the remaining dates before the mid-year cut-off will have a very special flavor.

Third date - Portugal, from March 8 to 16.

Fourth date - Australia, from April 4 to 14.

Fifth date - Australia, from April 20 to 30.

Written by: Enrique Hernández