Yang Siqi, a 14-year-old surfer from China, advanced to the finals weekend of the World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, making her the first surfer from her nation and the youngest individual to qualify for the sport at the Olympics.
The schoolgirl won Friday’s heat in challenging waves at the Arecibo tournament location, defeating Costa Rican surfer-skater Brisa Hennessy, 2020 Tokyo Olympian Sky Brown, and Spanish surfer-skater Janire Gonzalez-Extabarri.
As a result, Brown’s hopes of competing for Britain in both skating and surfing at the Olympics in Paris have been dashed. In 2021, Brown, who is just 15 years old, won a bronze medal in street skating during the Tokyo Games, which is the first Olympics to include the discipline.
Yang, who started surfing in 2018, claimed her spot among 24 women who will compete in the thumping tubes of Teahupo’o in Tahiti in six months.
Presented a with a ceremonial ticket to Tahiti by the International Surfing president, Yang beamed and squealed in delight.
Gonzalez-Extabarri also qualified through the ISA event in Puerto Rico, while Hennessy had previously qualified through the professional world tour.
WOMEN QUALIFIERS FROM 2024 ISA WORLD SURFING GAMES
Nadia Erostarbe (Spain)
Sol Aguirre (Peru)
Taina Hinckel (Brazil)
Yolanda Sequeira (Portugal)
Anat Lelior (Israel)
Camilla Kemp (Germany)
Janire Gonzalez-Extabarri (Spain)
Yang Siqi (China)
