Japan won the Vissla ISA Junior World Championships

He turned things around in the final series with a one-two in the under 18s. The United States finished second, Australia third and Hawaii fourth.


November 4, 2018
|EN News
|POR Pablo Zanocchi

All photos: ISA/Reed/Evans
Note presented by the International Surfing Association

Team Japan won its first ever world champion nation trophy at the Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championship which concluded today in Huntington Beach, California. The final final of the day which featured a Japanese one-two and the only local representative placing fourth was instrumental in sealing Japan's historic victory at this tournament.

The United States started the day with a reasonable lead over Japan and maintained it with the first victory of the day, in the Under 16 Women's event, in which Caitlin Simmers took gold. In the following final they achieved a good second and third place (in the Under 16 Men's event) and in the Under 18 Women's event the result was favorable to the Japanese but not enough to turn the overall score around.

The final of the men's under-18 competition saw Japan's team go all out and the United States all out. Local star Cole Houshmand placed fourth and the two Japanese, Keanu Kamiyama and Joe Azuchi, placed first and second respectively.

This left Japan in first place with a difference of 132 points and the United States in second. The medal table by teams was as follows:
1- Japan 7503 points
2- United States 7371
3- Australia 5814
4- Hawaii 5798

This young Keanu Kamiyama gave Japan the victory in the last heat of the event. His compatriot Joh Azuchi placed second and with that they completed the overall Japanese triumph. All photos: ISA/Reed/Evans
Joh Azuchi won this World Cup at the U16 level last year on home soil. He came very close to making history and winning the U18 level but his compatriot, Keanu Kamiyama, had other plans.

On an individual level, the Spanish Lucía Machado won the copper medal in the Under 16 category with an excellent performance, passing all her series through the main event, making use of a very powerful and consistent frontside and backside.

Machado did not maintain this level when the grand finale arrived. Nevertheless, he gave Spain a historic medal in the category.

Something similar happened to Nadia Erostarbe in the final of the main event and the under 18 women's repechage. Nadia did not find the rhythm of the previous days and said goodbye to the tournament in sixth place. These two results were key to giving Spain a very good sixth place in the overall ranking.

Finally, Jhonny Guerrero from Peru, the third Spaniard to make it to the final day, had a good repechage final but missed the grand final by 0,07 and finished fifth in the world. The Chorrillos native looked to create his opportunities and surfed well, even the scores could have gone his way; he was less than a tenth of a point short.

With these results, the Hispanic teams occupied the following positions in the tournament:
6: Spain
11: Peru
13: Costa Rica
14: Chile
15: Argentina
20: Puerto Rico
22: Panama
23: Mexico
24: Nicaragua
26: Uruguay
29: Ecuador
33: Guatemala
37: Venezuela
38: Colombia

Lucía Machado won a historic copper medal for Spain.
Nadia Erostarbe, sixth in the world in the women's under 18 category, thanks to attacks to the lip like the one in the photo.
Jhonny Guerrero has surfing, he has grit and he has the temperament to get through important series at key moments. Fifth place doesn't do him justice.

Final results
Ladies Under 16
Gold: Caitlin Simmers (USA)
Silver: Shino Matsuda (JPN)
Bronze: Sara Wakita (JPN)
Copper: Lucia Machado (ESP)

Boys Under 16
Gold: Grayson Hinrichs (AUS)
Silver: Kade Matson (USA)
Bronze: Levi Slawson (USA)
Copper: Riaru Ito (JPN)

Ladies Under 18
Gold: Rachel Presti (GER)
Silver: Keala Tomoda (HAW)
Bronze: Minami Nonaka (JPN)
Copper: Summer Macedo (HAW)

Boys Under 18
Gold: Keanu Kamiyama (JPN)
Silver: Joh Azuchi (JPN)
Bronze: Luke Slijpen (RSA)
Copper: Cole Houshmand (USA)

This young lady, Caitlin Simmers, is a case study. She surfs like a grown-up and has everything to become the next Caroline Marks. Today she won the under 16 category.
This Australian, Grayson Hinrichs, was also responsible for extinguishing the American dream and igniting the Japanese one.
Rachel Presti: Germany's first gold medal in sporting history.

*Due to a technical error, this article briefly reported the victory of the United States. We sincerely apologize to everyone. 

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