After flying from the Philippines Pro to the World Surfing Games in Peru, the Championship Tour surfers got their first crack at Punta Rocas. While some stood out, a contingent of tour surfers struggled against the 52-nation field and went straight into the repechage rounds.
The CT surfers were pre-seeded into round three, and as the round kicked off, several began dropping like flies. Rio Waida, Miguel Pupo, George Pittar, Connor O’Leary, Griffin Colapinto, Cole Houshmand, and Steph Gilmore all failed to pass their heats — an early blow to their countries’ chance to earn the LA 2028 slots.
The top-finishing men’s and women’s teams will get a slot to the 2028 Olympics, which they can fill however they please. And if the country fills its two-surfer quota through other pathways, this slot becomes a third “extra slot.”
Despite the rough start for some of these surfers, they aren’t out of the event yet. The ISA format is double elimination, so now they go to the do-or-die repechage round where they’ll have to surf more heats to make the final.
Not all of the CT surfers struggled. Kanoa Igarashi’s 9-point ride was the highest of the event, and, aside from Gilmore, the women fared much better, all advancing to the next round.
The upcoming rounds will feature a few Championship Tour matchups among the four-surfer heats: Yolanda Hopkins vs. Gabriela Bryan, Carissa Moore vs. Sawyer Lindblad, Liam O’Brien vs. Kauli Vaast, and a star-studded heat featuring Yago Dora, Italo Ferreira, and Kanoa Igarashi.
The event wraps up on November 15 to determine the gold medalists and the recipients of the LA 2028 slots.
