Special coverage presented by the International Surfing Association

Any surfer with two World Surf League titles can be satisfied, hang up his gloves and dedicate himself to being at peace with himself and his achievements in life. Clearly that is not the case for Piccolo Clemente who had an International Surfing Association title pending and if he didn't win it this year at 37, he was going to win it in 10, even if it was at 47.

He was so confident that in the following paragraphs he says things like: “At no time did it occur to me that I would never achieve it.”

That determination is what ended up transforming that boy from Huanchaco into one of the best longboarders in history, who in the following paragraphs speaks at length about the French experience that gave him his first ISA title.

Did you ever think that the ISA title was going to slip away from you and that you would never achieve it?
I have always dreamed of winning the title, as you know it has always been one of my goals. I have been competing in the ISA since 2008 or 2009. I have always had podiums, in some I haven't, in some I have had injuries, but at no point did it cross my mind that I would never achieve it.

I always try to think positive, I always try to find a way to find opportunities, they have come to me little by little, I think this ISA World Championship has been the hardest and most anticipated of my life, it has been super complicated to get the title, but the effort has been worth it a thousand times.

It was complicated because of the Pan American quotas, I was super nervous, I was tense, forget what this championship was like, but it was really incredible. I don't have the exact words to describe the feeling, incredible.

Why was it so important to you? I mean, with two WSL titles you can easily end a career as one of the most successful longboarders in history.
While it is true that I have two world titles that have been super difficult as well, in terms of competition they are two totally different competitions. I have had podiums in the ISAs, I have come fourth, third and second. I am a super competitive person and in fact a second place in 2018 was not bad at all, but my ambition was always the ISA, I have always wanted to win an ISA world championship, one of the first championships where I competed professionally if I am not mistaken was an ISA world championship because I entered the WSL after an ISA world championship.

Watching my friends win the ISA World Championships was an incredible motivation. At that time, I was competing with Bonga Perkins, who was one of my favorite competitors. That's where I met Harley Ingleby, that's where I met the top longboarders in the world. So it was like a dream. Just as I achieved sporting laurels, one of my goals was to win an ISA World Championship.

I'm not going to finish my career, forget it, I still have championships to win (laughs). I love competing, I've loved competition since I was very young, I've tried to practice all possible sports. Apart from my nature, apart from my character, it's about achieving and fighting for what I set out to do, for what I dream of, for the goals I set for myself, I've always tried to seek them out and achieve them in any way.

They have been happening, it has been hard, I have practically achieved all the goals that I have set for myself, the Pan American Games are still to come and well now they tell me that there are the ANOC which are the beach games that are almost Olympic so they have already put something else in my path to fight for. They are going to be this year, they are going to be incredible championships and well, I am already in and it is one more objective, in fact, I like it when I have objectives when I have goals and I am very ambitious for those things. Obviously always thinking positive, but humbly and step by step, little by little.

The nerves are there, they were very strong in this championship, in the semi-final of the repechage I came out with my calves hard as a rock, I threw myself on the court, Renato gave me massages, forget what it was like, crazy, headaches, I had never felt like that, many things conflicted, many things have happened along the way in the championship, crazy. Having Renato there as support, a person I have known for years helps a lot, my family, my wife, the messages from the Peruvians, forget it, I couldn't stop mentioning many things, but oh well, it's done, that's it.

The fact that you had to earn your place in Lima 2019 and that you were in some way competing with Lucas, was that a major factor?
In fact, the issue of qualification for Lima 2019 was supposed to be first with the ISA of 2018, then with the Pan-American Games, since there was no ISA it was assumed that I was already qualified. Then the ISA came out and they said no. The truth is that the qualification seemed absurd to me, it cannot be that a month before a Pan-American they come out saying that the qualification for Lima 2019 is going to be at the World Cup in France and it is not going to be for the ISA 2018 or the Pan-American Games 2018, but for the ISA 2019.

From there on, it was total nonsense to me because the ISA World Championship is a team championship, it’s to win a world team title and to win a world title, so in my case it was my world title plus the Pan American title, so if I had to compete in a series with Lucas, imagine the final with Lucas to fight for the world team title, 1st and 2nd would have been incredible, but if I had had first place and I knew that Lucas was going to catch me, I was going to score anyway because I have the Pan American title at stake too, so it didn’t seem like an ISA team championship to me but more of an individual one, I never agreed with the classification in that way.

If I had been a guy in January, well, I could have done other things or other plans. Too much pressure, many things, it didn't seem right to me, it seemed like a bad qualification by ISA or by the Pan-Americans. The truth is I didn't pay more attention to it, I tried to forget about it, but many factors were involved, I had a bad start in the ISA, I didn't start well, I had difficult series with a lot of pressure, I was able to get through second with a lot of pressure, then I relaxed a bit, calmed down and well things happened but really the qualification for 2019 with that ISA championship didn't seem adequate to me, it didn't seem right to me, that has to be done in advance, there is a lot of tension, one can get injured too, it is very tight for such an important championship and such an important qualification as Lima 2019, but well, these are things that I have been able to handle with a lot of attention and a lot of pressure, but in the end it happened.

And once you reached the final, what was it like to beat the two French idols, whom you know very well, in their own home?
I don't know how they felt emotionally, but they showed me that they are great competitors, I've known them for a long time... But winning in France was something epic, it was incredible.

The other thing was that you achieved another second place as a team, there must have been magic between you, right?
We repeated the dish like last year, a second place like in 2018 and now a historic place in 2019, incredible, really, the team I belong to is amazing, Lucas, Mafer and Camila, it's incredible, the vibe we have, we are a great team, I think the best team in the world, really incredible, without words, without comments.

Can we say that you have already achieved your main career goals?
To say that I have achieved the main goals and objectives of my career… Yes, all the goals I have set for myself, I have achieved them. As an athlete, part of my motivation is the goals I set. I think that all people who set goals are motivated to achieve them; that is the key.

Have I achieved everything? No, I don't think so. Goals and objectives in life always come about, there are always new things to do. In my case, I have the Reliks, but I haven't been able to become a champion. In the short term, there are the Pan-American Games. In the future, I hope not too far away, I hope that longboarding will be in the Olympics. That would be incredible, winning gold in longboarding. I can already visualize it! But step by step and calmly. Then there are the ANOC games in California, a new championship.

There are ambitions and goals, there are things to accomplish and things to set ourselves, so we are going with all our energy.

What's next for Piccolo?
I'm going to keep working, wait to see what comes up in a few years and set new goals. Now, from the 18th to the 28th, there's the Relik, which is an incredible championship, super complicated, I haven't won a Relik championship yet so that could be the short-term goal (laughs) and obviously the Pan-Americans, then I'll be back at the end of June and I'll stay entirely for the Pan-Americans, I haven't planned a trip anywhere else, I'll spend a little time with my family which is very important, I also dedicate a lot of time to my family. Then I'll wait to see what else happens along the way. It's important to thank my sponsors, my family, my wife, my in-laws... In fact, everyone, if I mention everyone I think you wouldn't finish writing.