The men's shortboard competition at the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
was held from 25 to 27 July at the Shidashita Beach, or "Shida", located about outside of Tokyo in
Chiba.
The medals for the competition were presented by
Bernard Rajzman
Bernard Rajzman (born 25 April 1957) is a Brazilian former volleyball player and three-time Olympian. He was born in Rio de Janeiro. He was enshrined in the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2005. Nowadays, Bernard is a member of the Inte ...
,
IOC Member,
Olympian, and
Silver Medalist
A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
; and the medalists' bouquets were presented by
Fernando Aguerre,
ISA President;
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Background
This was the first time the surfing is held at the Olympics; it was one of five temporary sports selected for Tokyo 2020. Surfing has also been selected as a temporary sport for
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Australia and the United States are typically strong surfing nations, with Brazil a significant challenger.
[ American ]John John Florence
John "John John" Alexander Florence (born October 18, 1992) is an American professional surfing, surfer. He is considered one of the most dominant Banzai Pipeline, pipe surfers of his era and won back-to-back world titles on the 2016 World Surf ...
, a two-time World Champion with the Pipeline Masters
The Pipe Pro is an event in surfing held annually at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1971 and has been sponsored by Yeti Coolers, who have a three year partnership in place, which began in 2023.
The event attracts the top ...
award, was among the favourites, as were 14-year tour veteran Owen Wright of Australia and reigning World Champion Ítalo Ferreira
Ítalo Ferreira da Costa (born 6 May 1994) is a Brazilian professional surfer hailing from a small community of Baía Formosa, in Rio Grande do Norte on the northeastern coast of Brazil.
Early life
Ferreira learned to surf on a three-foot-lo ...
of Brazil.[
]
Qualification
Quota places were allocated to the athletes at the following events:
* Host Country: Japan as host country is allocated 1 place in both men's and women's events. If at least one Japanese surfer has earned a qualification place through other events, the relevant Host Country Place(s) shall be reallocated to the next highest ranked eligible athlete at the 2020 World Surfing Games.
* 2019 World Surf League Championship Tour – the 10 highest ranked men and 8 highest ranked women will be awarded quota places.
* 2019 ISA World Surfing Games – the top finishers from each continent with the exception of the Americas will be awarded a quota place.
* 2019 Pan American Games – the top finisher in men's and women's events will be awarded a quota place.
* 2021 ISA World Surfing Games
The 2021 ISA World Surfing Games took place across the La Bocana and El Sunzal waves at Surf City in El Salvador, from 29 May to 6 June 2021. The event was originally scheduled to be held from 9 to 17 May 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-1 ...
– the top 4 men and 6 women will be awarded quota places. If a NOC or National Olympic Committee
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
qualifies more than the maximum number of athletes, the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games will prevail and any places earned from 2019 will be reawarded to the next highest finishing athlete(s).
There is a maximum of 2 men and 2 women per NOC.
Competition format
The competition consists of six rounds:[ Scoring for each wave is from 0 to 10, with the best two waves for each surfer counting.][
]
Schedule
Competition took place over 3 days between 25 July and 27 July. Due to a tropical storm the inaugural Olympic surfing finals were moved from Thursday 29 July to Tuesday 27 July.
Results
Round 1
The first round is non-elimination. Surfers are seeded into five heats of four surfers each, with the top two surfers advancing straight to Round 3. The bottom two surfers are seeded into Round 2, the first elimination round.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Heat 5
Frederico Morais
Frederico Rodrigues de Assunção Morais (born 3 January 1992), also known as Kikas, is a Portuguese professional surfer who competes on the World Surfing League Men's Championship Tour since 2017. He qualified to represent Portugal at the 2020 ...
originally qualified to represent Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, but was forced to withdraw after he tested positive for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
shortly before the start of the Games. Carlos Muñoz of Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
was named as a replacement, but he was unable to make the first round of competition.
Round 2
The top three surfers from each heat in Round 2 advance to Round 3. The bottom two surfers from each heat are eliminated.
Heat 1
Heat 2
Elimination round
The winner from each head-to-head heat qualifies to the next round.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics - Men's shortboard
Surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Men's events at the 2020 Summer Olympics