The Peruvian surfers Miguel Tudela and Sol Aguirre were crowned champions of the first tournament of the World Surf League (WSL) held in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, considered a Natural Heritage of Humanity for its unique flora and fauna.
Aguirre achieved a final score of 15.23 at Tongo Reef beach, in San Cristóbal Island, surpassing the Ecuadorian Dominica Barona, who scored 9.90. Meanwhile, Tudela achieved a score of 17.50, defeating the Brazilian Ryan Kainalo who reached a score of 16.40.
"It's incredible to be able to surf in such good waves. The waves were amazing and the potential of the place was demonstrated," Tudela commented to the press after winning the men's category.
The WSL QS1000 tournament started on Thursday and featured the participation of athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. The event distributed 1,000 points in the regional ranking valid for the 2023 Challenger Series and served as preparation for those seeking to qualify for the 2023 Pan American Games and the 2024 Olympics.
First WSL Tournament in Galapagos
This is the first time that an event of the World Surf League has been held in the Galapagos Islands, located 1,000 km off the coast of Ecuador, commented Bernardo Arosemena, president of the Ecuadorian Surf Federation, to AFP.
The last tournament of that sport held in the islands - considered a world biosphere reserve - was in 2018 and was a local tournament, according to the leader.
Arosemena emphasized that the conditions in Galapagos for surfing are similar to those in Hawaii due to the volcanic rock bottom and that the event aimed to highlight the importance of conserving a fragile ecosystem.
"Galapagos is characterized by having breaking waves called 'point break,' they are perfect waves, waves with a very long ride, very powerful waves," said the Federation's president.
The Galapagos Islands are of volcanic origin and were the birthplace of the theory of evolution of species developed by English naturalist Charles Darwin in the 19th century.
Within the archipelago, which takes its name from the giant turtles that inhabit it, there are 198,000 km2 of protected marine area.
(With information from AFP)