© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: China’s Siqi Yang competes in the women’s round 3 heat during day 5 of the ISA World Surfing Games in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo/ File Photo
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(Reuters) – Yang Siqi, a 14-year-old from China, has become first surfer from her country and the youngest person to qualify for the sport at the Olympics after progressing into finals weekend at the world surfing games in Puerto Rico.
The schoolgirl beat British surf-skate phenomenon Sky Brown, 2020 Tokyo Olympian Brisa Hennessy from Costa Rica and Spain’s Janire Gonzalez-Extabarri in Friday’s heat in tricky waves at the contest site of Arecibo.
The result means Brown has fallen short in her efforts to represent Britain in both surfing and skating at the Paris Olympics. Brown, still just 15, claimed a bronze in street skating at the Tokyo Games in 2021, the first Olympics to feature the sport.
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.
“Thank you my family, thank you everyone,” she said in a video posted on Instagram.
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)
