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Left to Right: Olympic surfers Kolohe Andino and Carissa Moore at the ISA World Surfing Games in Japan, coach Brett Simpson at the BSR Surf Resort wave pool in Waco, Texas. BSR's Perfect Swell technology can generate a variety of conditions, including the Olympic venue's beach break.
Waco, Texas, (Sept. 11, 2020) – USA Surfing athletes Carissa Moore, Lakey Peterson, Courtney Conlogue, Kevin Schulz and Christiaan “Otter” Bailey are heading to BSR Surf Resort’s wave pool in Waco, Texas for an Olympic training camp Sept. 15-16 to prepare for conditions at the 2021 Olympic surfing venue in Japan. See bios below. Surfing’s first Olympic Games will be held at Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba — about 40 minutes outside Tokyo. “BSR Surf Resort’s Perfect Swell technology simulates Japan’s wave conditions, giving the team a prime opportunity to test equipment and dial in aerial maneuvers,” said Team USA Olympic surf coach Brett Simpson. “The Olympic venue’s waves and the compressed competitive format are new for the team, but they are conditions Carissa, Caroline, John and Kolohe can crush with the right support and preparation.” In addition to wave pool training sessions, the athletes will work with a panel of Olympic medalist athletes and coaches from other sports, and the best experts in the fields of sports psychology, nutrition, training, movement analysis, rehabilitation, and the physiology of sleep for competitive advantage. Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, John John Florence, and Kolohe Andino qualified to represent Team USA in surfing’s first Olympics. Kelly Slater and Lakey Peterson are team alternates. Each of these surfers already has and/or will have the opportunity to train at BSR this month and in the months leading up the Olympics. The larger athlete contingent (see below) will be participating to provide feedback in refining the wave pool settings and other preparations. Most have surfed in Japan many times and have insights to share. “Preparing for the world’s largest sporting stage and Japan’s beach-break surf conditions is brand new,” said USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse. “We have an extra year to prepare and we’re going to take advantage of that. The summit athletes, panel of experts and former Olympians will be sharing valuable expertise and insights.” See roster of athletes and bios below. For more information, see:
OLYMPIC TRAINING CAMP ATHLETE ROSTER Carissa Moore Oahu, Hawaii Moore is ranked No. 1 in the world, earning her fourth world title in 2019. She surfs with remarkable power and finesse and is known for her work to help young girls develop confidence and pursue their dreams. Moore started racking up wins at National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) junior surf competitions and top spots at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships, where she helped Hawaii win a team victory. In all, she clinched a record 11 NSSA amateur titles. At age 18, she became the youngest surfer – male or female – to win a surfing world title and was the first woman to compete in the Triple Crown of Surfing, Hawaii’s most prestigious contest series. Moore was a star student at Punahou High (the same high school President Barack Obama attended) where she met her husband, Luke Untermann. She took four years of Japanese in high school and is looking forward to sharpening her use of the language during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Lakey Peterson Santa Barbara, Calif. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Lakey Peterson is Team USA’s Olympic surf team alternate – a remarkable outcome only in America where Nos. 1 and 2 Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks edged her out to make surfing’s first Olympic team. Showing the same resilience her national champion swimmer mom did when she missed going to the boycotted 1989 Moscow Olympics, she’s continues to train hard to be ready in case someone on the team gets injured and support the team. Growing up in Santa Barbara, Calif., Peterson played multiple sports and started focusing on surfing when she was 11. She is known for her full-throttle speed, aerial maneuvers and rise through the ranks at a young age. At age 14, Lakey completed the first-ever aerial maneuver in National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) women’s 18 and under competition to win the title. She consistently made the podium at USA Surfing championships with a hard-charging style and vicious turns that have only become stronger on tour. She is the daughter of a national swimming champion whose Olympic dream was denied when the U.S. boycotted the 1989 Moscow Olympics. Courtney Conlogue, Santa Ana, Calif. Courtney Conlogue started surfing at the age of four and was the youngest athlete to make the USA Surfing international team at 11 years old. Don’t let her big smile and infectious laugh fool you, she’s fierce. After being sidelined by a foot injury for the first half of 2018, her comeback form and tenacity earned a US Olympic and Paralympic Committee nomination for its Athlete of the Month award. She won two titles in just under two months (the 2018 Vans US Open and Roxy Pro France). She is a two-time runner up for the World Champion title and is determined to clinch the world title when the WSL Championship Tour resumes. She represented Team USA at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games in Japan and in between WSL Championship Tour stops, mentors USA Surfing’s junior team girls. Conlogue says she can’t wait to see surfers walking in the parade of nations with the five rings on Team USA’s uniforms. “The Olympics for me is just such an amazing experience where so many sports are just respected,” Conlogue said on The Surf Channel. “Surfing is such a beautiful sport to watch and I think it is important to share it on the Olympic stage.” Christiaan “Otter” Bailey Santa Cruz, Calif. Born in Santa Cruz, adaptive surfing athlete representative Christiaan Bailey grew up in France and was a professional free surfer and surf safari guide in West Africa for a number of years. After an injury in 2006 rendered him dependent on a wheelchair for mobility (crushed vertebrae suffered during the filming of a skateboard video) he has spent the last 11 years traveling the world on the WCT and WQS putting on expression sessions to promote the growth of adaptive surfing. He serves on the ISA Adaptive Surfing Advisory Board. He is a two-time USA national champion (2009, 2017), a two-time ISA silver medalist, the current ISA world No. 2 ranked surfer and reportedly the only adaptive surfer so far to surf Mavericks and Pipeline. Kevin Schulz San Clemente, Calif. A 2019 winner of the World Surf League Qualifying Series SLO CAL open event and 2018 Jacks Pro QS 1500 Champion, Kevin Schulz is considered one of the most progressive surfers today. He won the 2019 Stab High’s “Freak Peak” event with what is being called the biggest air landed in Waco, Texas’ BSR Wavepool’s history. Schulz not only knows wave pools and surfing’s air game, he has competed in Japan several times. Schulz is a product of the USA Surfing program, coming up through the Western Surfing Association, National Scholastic Surfing Association and USA Surfing Prime Series. He was on the USA Junior Surf Team in Nicaragua in 2013 and the USA Surf Team in Costa Rica in 2016. While competing on the World Surfing League Qualifying Series, he is attending Northwestern University, working on earning a Bachelor’s degree in Health Management. Brett Simpson, Team USA’s Olympic surf coach Huntington Beach, Calif. Two-time US Open winner Brett Simpson was unanimously voted by Team USA’s surf athletes to lead the team as they take to the world’s biggest sporting stage next summer in Japan. Simpson coached USA Surfing’s junior national team to team gold and the World Surfing Games team to silver last year. He said he is proud and honored to have earned the team’s trust and to represent his country as the Olympic team head coach. No other men’s surfer has won back-to-back U.S. Open titles. “Team USA is absolutely stacked with Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, John John Florence and Kolohe Andino,” Simpson said. “Their precision, energy and power are made for the Olympic stage, where medals are decided in the span of a few short days of giving it 110 percent, no mistakes, and mastering what the ocean provides at that time.” Simpson has been working with California team members during the pandemic (Hawaii has a travel ban.), simulating high-pressure decision making. “In a sport where the playing field constantly changes, having headspace awareness and mental toughness can be the most critical factor in determining gold medals,” Simpson said. TEAM USA OLYMPIC TEAM MEMBERS Carissa Moore (see above) Caroline Marks Melbourne Beach, Florida Marks made history as the youngest surfer (man or woman) to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour at just 15 years old and had a performance so strong she was named WSL Rookie of the Year. She finished her second year on tour ranked No. 2 in the world and is aiming for her first world championship title in 2020. She grew up in Melbourne Beach, Fla., where she learned to surf with her brothers when she was 8 years old. Before going on the WSL CT, she racked up multiple USA Surfing championship wins, including winning the gold medal in the 2016 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships Girls Under 16 division. Kolohe Andino San Clemente, California Andino was the first American surfer to provisionally qualify for Team USA’s Olympic surf team with performances so strong he earned the position in October before the season ended. Growing up in San Clemente with a pro surfer dad, he won seven USA Surfing Champion titles and nine National Scholastic Surfing Association championships – a record for boys under 18. Andino has an aggressive, acrobatic style. His default approach is going big, which makes him one of the most filmed and entertaining surfers. Many of his hometown San Clemente groms look up to Andino, who is quick to encourage and support the region’s up-and-coming talent. John John Florence Oahu, Hawaii Florence is a two-time world champion and made an incredible comeback from injury to gain provisional Olympic qualification in 2019. Despite missing more than half the season recovering from ACL surgery, he held onto one of two top U.S. spots after returning to compete in the WSL's final event of the season - the Pipe Masters. He started surfing when he was just 2 years old. At the age of 13, he became the youngest person to compete in the Triple Crown of Surfing. Just six years later, Florence won his first title and clinched his second in 2017. His surfing is in a league of its own; he effortlessly pulls off freakish airs and maneuvers with athleticism and style. Comments are closed.
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