Hiroto Ohara and Mahina Maeda win the final selection for the Olympic Games “2nd Japan Open of Surfing” | THE SURF NEWS “Surf News”

From November 1 to 3, the main race of the “Second Japan Open of Surfing” was held with Hiroto Ohara at the Olympic Surf Competition Venue, Ichinomiya-cho, Chiba Prefecture, Tsurigasaki Kaigan (Shidashita). Mahina Maeda won the championship. I grabbed the last ticket from the Japanese representative of the “ISA World Surfing Games (WSG)”, the final selection for the Olympic Games to be held in El Salvador in May next year.

A total of 24 boys and 23 girls participated in this tournament, including designated training camps and selected seeded players in the “surf training camp” which was held at the same location from October 31 to October 1. of November.

With waves of Koshi-Mune steadily coming in every day, the same reload method (loser recovery battle) was adopted as WSG in the main race, and 46 heats were completed in two and a half days. A fierce battle was fought for the last frame leading to the Olympics.

Kanoa Igarashi, Yumeji Tsuzuki, Satoshi Murakami and Shino Matsuda, as well as the winners Hiroto Ohara and Mahina Maeda, will participate in the “ISA World Surfing Games” as representative of Japan “Wave Riding Japan”.

Mahina Maeda, the women’s champion, was born and raised in Hawaii to Japanese parents. In 2018, he changed his nationality registration from the United States to Japan and participated in last year’s ISA World Surfing Games as a representative of Japan. The world ranking in 2019 is number 15, which is only surpassed by Yumeji Tsuzuki among the Japanese. 22 years old born in 1998.

Hiroto Ohara, who won the men’s championship, is 23 years old and is from his hometown of Ichinomiya. In 2015, he became the first Japanese to win the “Vans US Open of Surfing” and contributed greatly to improving the name of surfing in Japan. In 2018 and 2019, he also participated in the ISA World Surfing Games as a representative from Japan.

At last year’s ISA World Surfing Games, Hiroto Ohara and Mahina Maeda, who handed over the Olympic Games position to Satoshi Murakami and Shino Matsuda, won the Japan Open. Challenge to win the Olympic ticket again in El Salvador.

Results of the “2nd Japan Open of Surfing”

man
1 alien Ohara
2nd place Reio Inaba
3 Siyusi
4th place Nagisa Matsubara
woman
1st place Mahina Maeda
2nd place Minami Nonaka
3rd place Minori Kawai
4th place Matsuda Shino

Official website of the “2nd Japan Open of Surfing”: https://japanopenofsurfing.jp/

(Editorial department THE SURF NEWS)