K. Igarashi Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

K. Igarashi, a surfer and Olympic silver medalist, was born to do what he does best. Before he and Kanoa’s mom, Misa, immigrated to the United States, K. Igarashi dad, Tsutomu, was a surfer in Japan.

In any case, they didn’t give up surfing altogether. They relocated to “Surf City” (Huntington Beach, California) with the explicit goal of immersing their children in the surf culture of the area.

K. Igarashi, age 3, this meant waking up at 6 a.m. to surf with his dad. Igarashi, when just seven years old, won his first trophy thanks to their hard work.

K. Igarashi Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

K. Igarashi just won the World Surf League title and came in third at the WSL Rip Curl Pro, securing his spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On Tuesday, when the men’s final was pushed up because of an oncoming typhoon, Kanoa Igarashi lost to the formidable Brazilian Italo Ferreira and took silver instead of gold.

Despite defeating world number one Gabriel Medina in the semi-finals, K. Igarashi lost the final to the current world champion Ferreira at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach by a score of 15.14 to 6.60.

The surfing world governing organisation announced the pairings for the first round of competition for both men and women.

To determine who will compete for gold, silver, and bronze in surfing’s maiden Olympic appearance, a six-round heat system will be used.

The athletes were divided into five groups of four surfers each, with the top two finishers from each heat advancing to the next round.

Round 2 of the elimination process involves two heats of five competitors each, and the bottom two surfers will have to compete in them.

All but the top three surfers in each heat will be eliminated from the Olympics after Round 2.

Each of the eight heats in Round 3 features a pair of surfers, and only the winner advances to the quarterfinals.

Similarly to the previous round, only the four best surfers from the quarterfinals will advance to the semis.

The best surfers in the semis advance to the final, while the next two surfers will compete for bronze. The winner of the final takes home the gold medal, while the runner-up receives the silver.

Last Words

K. Igarashi, who is a dual citizen of Japan and the United States, has been focusing more and more of his time in Portugal.

The world traveller has a home in the wave-rich zone of Ericeira, and he’s added a fondness for big reef breaks to his amazing surf arsenal in pursuit of his long-stated ultimate goal: becoming World Champion. Thanks for reading our article K. Igarashi Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.