Surfing at the Summer Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Surfing at the Summer Olympics |
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| Governing body | ISA |
| Events | 2 (men: 1; women: 1) |
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Surfing is a cool sport where athletes ride ocean waves on a board. It made its first appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Surfing was so popular that it will be back for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France!
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Surfing at the Olympics
Surfing is a relatively new sport in the Olympic Games. It was added to bring more exciting and youth-focused sports to the event.
How Surfing Joined the Games
In September 2015, the sport of surfing was considered for the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was on a special list with other sports like baseball, softball, karate, skateboarding, and sport climbing.
In June 2016, the main group in charge of the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said they would support adding all these sports. Finally, on August 3, 2016, surfing and the other sports were officially approved for the 2020 Olympic program.
For many years, it was hard for surfing to become an Olympic sport. One reason was that if a country without a coastline hosted the Games, it would be difficult to hold surfing events. Another concern was about safety, as surfing in big waves can be risky. The IOC wanted to make sure everything was super safe for the athletes.
Olympic Surfing Champions
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, surfers competed in an event called "shortboard." Here are the amazing athletes who won medals:
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's shortboard |
Ítalo Ferreira Brazil |
Kanoa Igarashi Japan |
Owen Wright Australia |
| Women's shortboard |
Carissa Moore United States |
Bianca Buitendag South Africa |
Amuro Tsuzuki Japan |
Who Won the Medals?
Here's a quick look at which countries won medals in surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil (BRA) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 United States (USA) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Japan (JPN) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  South Africa (RSA) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  Australia (AUS) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
See also
In Spanish: Surf en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
