Two South African surfers, Jordy Smith and Sarah Baum, are the first surfers to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris!
Global (06 June, 2023) — Two South African surfing superstars nabbed the first qualifying spots for the 2024 Paris Olympics in surfing and have aptly been dubbed Africa’s male and female champions of the waves.
The qualifying event— the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games —took place in El Salvador recently where both surfing stars rode to the greatest heights. Beyond qualifying for the big leagues, they both took the official titles of top-ranked male and female African surfers.
Watch the moment the journey to Paris became a reality here!
It’s High Time (and Tide) That Surfing Became an Olympic Sport
A total of 8 qualifying spots were up for the taking, with 48 spots in total set to surf at Olympic level.
As surfing only became an Olympic sport in 2021(the postponed 2020 games), it’s a pioneering moment for South African wave cruisers.
And, for Smith, it’s the revisiting of a dream come true. If you’re wondering why we never saw Smith strut his surfboard in Tokyo for the last Olympic stretch, it’s because he had to withdraw last minute due to a knee injury that would’ve impacted his performance and potential health.
“A lot of hard work has gone into achieving this since I had to sit 2020 out due to injury. It’s paid off and couldn’t be more stoked to represent [South Africa],” Smith said on social media.
Both surfers hail from Durban. Despite living abroad now in Australia, Baum shared:
“Even though I live out of South Africa, I’m so proud to be South African and I’ve always just wanted to wave the flag wherever I am.”
by 