With Tropical Storm Nepartak making landfall in Japan on Tuesday, you couldn’t ask for a more exciting day for the finals of the first Olympic surfing competition. And there was plenty to celebrate for the hosts, with Kanoa Igarashi taking silver in the men’s competition and Amuro Tsuzuki grabbing bronze in the women’s event at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach in Chiba Prefecture.
The surfing dream came alive early in the day for Japan as both Igarashi and Tsuzuki qualified for the semifinals of their respective competitions in tightly contested quarterfinal matches.
"Today is one of those days when it's man against ocean, more so than competing against your competitor, but that's what makes it fun," Igarashi told reporters after his quarterfinal victory early in the day.