Alan George Cleland Quiñonez (born 19 June 2002) is a Mexican surfer. He won a gold medal at the
2023 ISA World Surfing Games and is qualified to compete at the
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...
.
Early life
Cleland was born in the beachside town of ,
Colima, Mexico, to a Mexican mother and an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
father.
His father, Alan Cleland Sr., was a pro surfer from the
San Diego area who moved to Boca de Pascuales and married a local woman.
[ Alan Jr. did not begin learning English until he was six years old, and he attended a public primary school before switching to a home school curriculum.][
Cleland began surfing at a young age in his hometown, which is known for its rough waters, though he soon moved to California to further develop his talent.][
]
Career
Cleland began competing on the World Surf League (WSL) Men's Junior Tour in 2015. The following year, at the age of 14, he competed in the under-18 category at the ISA World Junior Championship. Cleland made his WSL Qualifying Series debut in 2017, placing 25th at the Powerade Surf Open in Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
. He also took first place in the under-16 category. At the 2017 ISA World Junior Championship, Cleland competed in both the under-16 and under-18 categories after capturing national titles at both age groups. He finished in third place in the juvenile category at the 2018 US Open of Surfing. In 2019, Cleland won a silver medal in the under-18 category at the ISA World Junior Championship, which was held in Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...
. In 2022, Cleland earned his first WSL Junior Tour victory at the Live Like Zander Junior Pro in Barbados.
Cleland won the gold medal at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
, becoming the second Mexican man to win gold at the event (after Jhony Corzo in 2017). He recorded three of the top ten highest-scoring waves of the competition, including a 9.73 in the final.2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...
.[ However, the qualification system required a top 30 placement and Bouchgua finished 31st, meaning the WSG slot was re-allocated to the highest-finishing eligible surfer, regardless of continent, which was Cleland.][ He became the first Mexican surfer to qualify for the Olympics.][
]
Results
Victories
References
External links
Alan Cleland
at the World Surf League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleland, Alan
Living people
2002 births
Mexican surfers
World Surf League surfers
Mexican people of American descent
Sportspeople from Colima
Surfers at the 2023 Pan American Games
Olympic surfers for Mexico
Surfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics