The inaugural Japan Open of Surfing Competition
After the Golden Week holiday period this year, surfers were geared up to participate in the inaugural Japan Open of Surfing, which was organized by the Nippon Surfing Association. The event took place in Ichinomiyacho, Chiba Prefecture, which is an Olympic surfing competition venue.
Shun Murakami won the mens division. Murakami also previously won 4th place in last year’s ISA World Surfing Games. Born in 1997, he is still a young 22 years old. In the men’s final, Murakami earned 17.47 points, while second placed Kaito Ohashi received 9.37.
Shino Matsuda the women’s champion, won second place in last year’s ISA World Junior Championship U16 and second place in the “Ichinomiya Chiba Open” for two consecutive years. Born in 2002, Matsuda is just 16 years old. In the final, Matsuda scored 9.66 points to beat runner-up Kana Nakashio, who had 8.47 points.
The two winners will take part in the “ISA World Surfing Games” in September, which also serves as the Olympics screening event.
