So yesterday I posted about Kanoa Igarashi and Mirai Ikeda qualifying for the 2028 LA Olympics. I wanted to post this full Revision rather than just to add an editors note on that post.
First and foremost I needed to correct myself in saying that these surfers have provisionally qualified for the Olympics. The reason that this qualification is only provisional is because there could be another surfer, or surfers who represent their same country, Japan, that achieve a better ranking on the hierarchy order of qualification. This would need to be done on the 2027/2028 WSL Championship Tour, or at the 2027, or 2028 ISA World Surfing Games. So basically, if two Japanese surfers finish higher than Kanoa on the ‘27/’28 CT, this Olympic slot could be in danger – hence, provisional. The same goes for Mirai Ikeda. The good news for both of these surfers is that there aren’t enough Japanese surfers on Tour to make this happen, at the moment. They would need to keep their eyes on the ‘27/’28 ISA World Surfing Games, where the winning country of these Games will be awarded an extra slot or ‘quota place’. This is something to keep an eye on as the country that wins will be able to make their own selection of who they’d like to represent in and for the Olympics.
Next, I wanted to try to add a little bit of clarity as to Olympic Qualification in general, but it’s not as easy as it seems. I believe the best way I can do this is to simply link you to a few of the ISA’s web pages that lists which events will qualify surfers, how many will qualify, and when each event will run. You can find that here. You can also have a look through the downloadable PDF file they provide, which might provide a clearer picture for you, here. If you choose not to browse, what I can tell you is that we will see more provisional qualifiers as early as next month from the ISA World Surfing Games at Punta Rocas, Peru. My question that I am left with is that if Connor O’Leary, or another Japanese athlete happens to win this event, Male or Female, does that provisionally lock in the team for Japan for the 2028 LA Olympics? Or does Team Japan then earn a ‘Quota Place’ thus granting an extra slot into the Olympics? There is a lot going on. What I do know is I will have eyes on this event, and update you as the results land in.
Until then.
Cheers,
hwilsin
Drew Stanfield