Sophia Medina is among five young surfers getting the full Olympic treatment. Photo: Pierre Tostee//World Surf League
Five young Brazilian surfers have jetted off on a trip to Hawaii funded by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Laura Raupp, Sophia Medina, Luara Mandelli, Ryan Kainalo, and Rickson Falcão will spend 45 days in a house at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore – from December 20 to February 3 – as part of an effort to position Brazil for future Olympic medals at LA 2028 or Brisbane 2032.
Paulo Moura, Vice President and Sports Director of the Brazilian Surf Federation, told The Inertia that the trip is 100 percent funded by the Brazilian Olympic Committee and costs more than USD $100,000, with an additional $4,000 allocated to each surfer to cover personal expenses.
In a press release, the Brazilian Surfing Federation said the athletes were selected based on criteria that include being under 21 years old and either being close to qualifying for the WSL Championship Tour via the Challenger Series or having already qualified for the WSL Pro Juniors.
According to Moura, this is the second consecutive year the program has received funding. The camp will feature two coaches working with the athletes: one dedicated to filming and analyzing footage, and another coaching directly in the water.
“We’re thinking about the future, about these surfers being able to compete for medals for Brazil in the Olympics,” Moura said in the release. “What we intend is for the athletes to improve by surfing quality waves in Hawaii for 45 days, so they become better competitors and are prepared for the CT and the Olympic Games in the future.”
Daily training sessions will take place at Pipeline, Backdoor, and Off the Wall. Three of the surfers — Kainalo, Falcão, and Mandelli — will travel to the Philippines in January to compete in the WSL World Juniors before returning to rejoin the camp. Raupp and Medina will also compete in the Challenger Series event at Pipeline in late January.
The Hawaii trip is a textbook example of how surfing’s inclusion in the Olympics is filtering down to athletes. Brazil is one of a handful of countries leveraging national Olympic committee funding to invest in their surf programs.
