Anthony Fillim, from Santa Teresa, on the Nicoya Peninsula in the north of the Central American country, has won his second Costa Rican national championship title.

Last weekend in Playa Hermosa, the Ticos experienced an intense final where the title of champion had several contenders. Fillingim needed to guarantee third place to be able to take the title home or hope that one of his close ones lost before.

Finally, in a close semi-final in which he faced the last in contention, the Caribbean Jordan Hernández, everything went well for the Santa Teresa native who was able to celebrate a second national title.

In the following paragraphs Anthony talks about the moment he is going through, among other things, with difficulties due to the lack of a main sponsor despite being a regional leader, 2015 Latin American champion, world team champion and ISA individual world runner-up and now two-time champion in a country considered among the powers of Latin American surfing.

How has this year been in general, how was the competition on the national circuit? What has been the most difficult part of the season?
This year in general has been very difficult for me because I don't have a sponsor on my boards, nor anyone who sponsors my boards. I competed in the entire National Circuit thanks to the people of Santa Teresa and Malpaís, thanks to the people who supported me and gave me money to be able to compete and to buy boards and so on. It has been an incredible year and at the same time difficult, but new things are coming and a very bright future lies ahead for me.

The hardest thing about the season has definitely been not having a board sponsorship, I think that's what has affected me the most. Having to give surf lessons for more than two weeks in a row to be able to buy a board and still owing money for the boards I have, it's hard, but I take it all well.

What can be improved on the Costa Rican national circuit?
I think that the national circuit showed an incredible level of competitiveness this year, in general. I think that what can be improved is in judging. There is always room for improvement. They can have a slightly better scale, but it is a process that little by little is seen to be improving and I think that the circuit has been doing very well.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
I am in the pre-selection process for the ISA World Championships in Japan. God willing, first of all I will go to train with the pre-selection and from there I hope to have a place in that national team to represent our beautiful country this year.

Among the juniors, who do you think will give you serious competition when you enter the Open category?
They are growing very strongly, we saw Malakai Martinez's performance at the US Open, he reached the semi-final. He is one of the greatest juniors of the year. Also the local from Santa Teresa, Sebastian Mora, has incredible talent and a natural surfer. If I tell you names there would be too many and all of them have the potential to become champions in the Open category.

How are you doing in the selection process for Costa Rica?
The process will begin between August and September to select the team that will go to Japan. It is a very nice process, in which we meet and train with coach Jim Hogan, and he is the one who makes the final decision on who goes to the national team.

Do you see yourself competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
Yes, I see myself competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. I think my level is good enough to be in the Olympics, or in CT or QS, but unfortunately I suffer from not having sponsors, but I think that in 2019 I will be able to run the entire QS circuit and hopefully be able to reach the top of the QS ranking in a short time.

We saw that last year you gave lessons to Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid's right back. How was the experience? Will he have a future in surfing like he does in football?
(Laughs) The famous Dani Carvajal! He is an excellent person and a good friend. It was a very nice experience to be able to teach a public figure and high-level athlete like him how to surf. The man has a future in surfing, but 100% better in football. It's like saying that I switched to football from one day to the next and I want to do the same thing I've done in surfing, so it's better for each one to do his sport as a professional and it's always good to have a hobby at hand, which in this case for Dani is surfing.

It was super motivating and I am very grateful to the ICT (Costa Rican Tourism Institute) for being able to be Dani Carvajal's surfing trainer.

Is there anyone you would like to thank?
I want to thank my family, girlfriend, friends and people on social media who have always supported me.

This is how Anthony celebrated the victory: