TOKYO — By his own count Fernando Aguerre said he worked 22 years to get surfing added to the Olympic schedule. So when the first of the 40 Summer Games competitors hit the waves early Sunday morning at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach in Chiba Prefecture, about 40 miles east of Tokyo, it was a special moment.
“It was a very emotional feeling for me,” Aguerre said. “This will never happen again. The first day of Olympic surfing.”
Some of the surfers felt the same way.
“I never dreamed of surfing in the Olympics. It was only until the last few years, when it got accepted into the Games, it really became a reality,” said Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, a four-time world champion, who won the first heat of Olympic competition.
“The other day I was walking through the check-in room and I saw the jersey. I was so excited to actually see my name and the Olympic Rings on the jersey. It’s a very special time to be a part of surfing and to be here on this world stage. I’m very honored and I feel very fortunate.”
Moore won her third-round heat Monday to reach the quarterfinals, as did 19-year-old American Caroline Marks, who beat the North Shore’s Mahina Maeda, who is competing for Japan.
“It feels surreal to actually put the Olympic jersey on,” Marks. “I feel just so proud and honored to be here and represent my country. It was really fun.”
Hawaii’s John John Florence wasn’t as lucky Monday.
The two-time world champion placed third in the first men’s heat but won his heat in round two Sunday, but a day later he lost to American Kolohe Andino 14.83-11.6 in the third round. Also losing in the third round was Kauai’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, who competes for Brazil. Brisa Hennessy, who spent part of her childhood in Hawaii but represents Costa Rica, advanced.
“It still feels so surreal, I’ve been pinching myself every day,” Hennessy said Sunday. “It’s been a dream walking amongst the best athletes in the world (at the Olympic Village). An opportunity and experience of a lifetime.”
Ecuador’s Dominic Barona marked surfing’s Olympic debut by getting the Olympic rings tattooed on her wrist before leaving for Tokyo, although she had to wear a long-sleeve shirt around the house to keep it secret from her mother.
“I got it because this is for life. We’re the first Olympic athletes in surfing, so I wanted to save this moment for all my life,” she said. “I don’t know how she’s going to feel about it. But this is so important for me. Every time I go out in the water, I’ll see the tattoo.
“To be a part of this is an honor. I still can’t believe it yet, it feels like every day I’m dreaming.”
Peru’s Lucca Mesinas went one better, carrying his country’s flag in last Friday’s opening ceremony, officially becoming an Olympian before his sport did.
“It’s amazing, a dream come true,” he said. “I’m staying at the Olympic Village and seeing all the athletes at the gym there is crazy. And here too, surfing with the best surfers in the world is amazing.”
Monday’s Round 3
Men
Heat 1
Kanoa Igarashi, Japan, def. Rio Waida, Indonesia, 14.0-12.0.
Heat 2
Kolohe Andino, United States, def. John John Florence, United States, 14.83-11.6.
Heat 3
Michel Bourez, France, def. Ramzi Boukhiam, Morocco, 12.43-9.4.
Round 3
Heat 1
Bianca Buitendag, South Africa, def. Stephanie Gilmore, Australia, 13.93-10.0.
Heat 2
Yolanda Hopkins, Portugal, def. Johanne Defay, France, 10.84-9.4.
Heat 3
Brisa Hennessy, Costa Rica, def. Ella Williams, New Zealand, 12.0-7.73.
Heat 4
Caroline Marks, United States, def. Mahina Maeda, Japan, 15.33-7.74.
Heat 5
Carissa Moore, United States, def. Sofia Mulanovich, Peru, 10.34-9.9.
Heat 6
Silvana Lima, Brazil, def. Teresa Bonvalot, Portugal, 12.17-7.5.
Heat 7
Amuro Tsuzuki, Japan, def. Tatiana Weston-Webb, Brazil, 10.33-9.0.
Heat 8
Sally Fitzgibbons, Australia, def. Pauline Ado, France, 10.86-9.03.
Baxter writes for the Los Angeles Times