Slater is not going to Paris for now, but his Japanese counterpart is the one who is sounding strong to take over the place

Masatoshi Ohno told DUKE that he had intentions to compete in Teahupoo for the Olympic event, now the chance became very palpable for him


26 September, 2022
|EN Recent
|POR Pablo Zanocchi

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Cover photo by ISA-Franco

Known as the Japanese Kelly Slater, Masatoshi Ohno is the leading contender to take the spot that Kanoa Igarashi, Keanu Kamiyama and Shun Murakami achieved last week at the ISA World Surfing Games.

Touring training for this year's junior world championships in El Salvador in a live broadcast by DUKE before the new qualification system was revealed, Ohno, who is a coach for the Japanese team, said he wanted to go to Paris 2024 because waves like Teahupoo are to his liking.

Ohno has competed and ridden some great waves at Pipeline, and has also been invited to trials at Teahupoo and Fiji. When it comes to heavy tubular lefts like those at Teahupoo, he's a pretty clear choice.

 

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A post shared by Masatoshi Ohno (@masatoshiohno)

Their main competition for the slot that is hand-picked by the federation and the local Olympic committee would be the Pipe specialists who spend season after season on the wave.

What weighs in Ohno's favor is that, as has been said, he is the Japanese Kelly and surely his career will be honored with an award like this.

For now, it is the name that seems to sound the strongest and makes the most sense to compete in Paris 2024.

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