Durban –South African surfer Luke Thompson won bronze at the International Surfing Association (ISA) Junior World Championships in El Salvador at the weekend.
The Durban-based surfer placed third overall in the boys U18 category with 730 points, while South Africa placed 10th overall in the competition with 4 033 points.
Daniel Emslie, of Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape, placed 10th overall in the boys U18 with 500 points.
The top three spots went to Hawaii, Australia and the US.
In the final round of the boys U18, Thompson went up against Hawaiians Shion Crawford, Luke Swanson and Australian surfer Kobi Clements.
Thompson made a remarkable turnaround to claim the bronze medal, after he was relegated to the repechage rounds following the fourth round of heats.
The ISA juniors ran for nine days and featured 419 athletes from 45 nations all battling it out at Surf City, El Salvador, for the title of junior world champion.
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said the event was a huge success in uniting junior surfers from around the world.
“What an amazing competition. It’s been wonderful to see the best junior surfers ripping the waves of El Salvador, this wonderful destination that has become one of the prime surfing spots in the world.
“As far as I am concerned, these are the best World Junior Surfing Championships in history. The best waves, the largest number of competitors, the largest number of teams and the largest amount of supporting crew that came along with the athletes,” Aguerre said.
IOL managed to get in touch with team captain Daniel Emslie, who said that the competition was a great experience and the team effort was by far his favourite part about the event.
“It’s such a honour to represent South Africa on an international scale. I am team captain so it adds a bit of pressure but I’m enjoying leading the team.
IOL asked Emslie what his favourite part of the tournament was, he said: “For sure the whole team aspect. Surfing is normally quite a solo sport, so having the team watching you and supporting all your heats gets you excited to surf well and do them proud.”
IOL