Sol Borelli brought joy to the hearts of three countries when she became world champion last week in Peru.

Born in Lanzarote, she lived in Argentina and developed as a young surfer in Peru. She even represented Argentina in a world championship.

But for this, she returned to the place where she was born and wore the red jersey to win the world championship. Her name, perhaps not as well-known in English-language magazines as those of Milla Coco Brown, who finished second, or even the Chinese surfer Siqi Yang, was forever established as a major figure in the present and future of world surfing.

Below is a short interview with the fluid and powerful goofy footer who is the new world champion.

What's your story? You have Peruvian and Argentinian family... But you ended up competing for Spain, what was that process like?
To begin with, I was born in Lanzarote along with my siblings, and we grew up there. We lived on the island for almost five years, and then my parents, who are Argentinian, decided to travel to Argentina for a holiday and to visit family. The idea was to return to Lanzarote, but we grew very fond of Argentina, and being closer to family, we decided to stay.

Three years passed and our financial situation wasn't the best, so my father suggested we move to Peru. When we arrived, it was incredible: waves everywhere, delicious food, and a spectacular welcome. We felt very grateful to the Peruvian people from the very first moment.

In short, we spent six years in Peru. My brothers and I competed at the national level. I first trained with Surflab Project and then started with Club Regatas. In mid-2022, the Argentine national team called me up to go to the World Championships in El Salvador.

It was my first World Cup, when I was only 14, and my sister Sinai came with me. It was a wonderful experience and we were both very excited.

After the World Cup, when we returned to Peru, my brother Saion decided to come back to Spain. He convinced us, since we saw many more opportunities to represent Spain, and besides, we were really eager to return to Lanzarote. Today we are very happy and grateful to be back home. The truth is, we missed it a lot, and everything is going great.

What do you think went differently at this event compared to others where everything went so well? What was the key?
It didn't seem that different from other championships, but it did feel somewhat similar to El Salvador 2024. The difference is that in this one I felt stronger and much more confident.

This year I didn't do so well in some competitions, but I trained a lot with Aritza Saratzaga and I think all that effort was clearly reflected in this championship. I've been really wanting to win this world championship since last year, when I didn't manage it.

For me, the key was to be patient, have maximum confidence in myself, and enter the heats with a lot of attitude.

What did you learn about yourself from this event?
I learned that you can always give much more than you think if you believe in yourself. I also understood how important patience is, because in the end, every effort has its reward.

What impact did you feel the world title had after you got home?
When the championship ended, I couldn't quite grasp it. But when I got home, I started reflecting on it a lot more, and I still feel like it hasn't fully sunk in. I realize that a dream has come true, and I'm still very surprised by everything that's happening.

This has surely broadened your horizons, what do you dream about now?
Next year I'd like to qualify for the Challenger Tour and continue improving my surfing. A very clear goal I have for the future is to reach the Championship Tour and do very well there.

For now, I'm still focused on the process and really enjoying it. I think many more opportunities are coming my way than I had before.