For the second year in a row, Tico athletes elevated Costa Rica’s status in the surfing world with medals. Noe Mar McGonagle earned third place overall in the under-16 division at the Dakine World Junior Surfing Championship in Playa Venao, Panama.

The young Tico surfer from Pavones was victorious in every heat during the eight days of elimination rounds. His day began with a morning heat which guaranteed him a ticket to the finals in the afternoon; alas, at the end he scored 11.34, a full two points less than Hawaiian surfer Kalani David, who is now one  of the best junior wave riders in the world.

This is the second medal for Costa Rica that falls under the recognition of the International Surfing Association (ISA) in less than 12 months. In 2011, Craig “Tequila” Schieber brought back a gold medal from El Salvador, at the ISA World’s Masters.

During the finals of the Dakine World Junior Surfing Championship, McGonagle faced off against Kalani David and Josh Monis, both from Hawaii, as well as the Japanese wonder Takumi Nakamura, who scored just a fraction of a point below Kalani David. Noe Mar essentially missed his chance at a gold medal by one wave in the heat.

The Hawaiian Surfing Team scored the most medals and received a special trophy from the International Olympic Committee, a gesture many consider could translate into future recognition of surfing as an Olympic event.

Costa Rica did not manage to stay in the Top 10

The New Zealand surfing team got ahead of us in terms of medals at the end of the championship and knocked down the young Tico surfers by one spot to finish at number 11.

Coach Geancarlo Lorea told Carlos Enrique Brenes of FEDESURF that he was very proud of the team members, since the level of surfing he witnessed at this championship was the highest and most competitive thus far.

Source: FEDESURF