After making a run into the gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics — and nearly pulling off the kind of ending you only see in movies — Kanoa Igarashi is turning the page.
He’ll have time to admire the silver medal he earned at the Olympics later. Right now, the 23-year-old’s focus is on moving up the World Surf League rankings and qualifying for the Rip Curl WSL Finals, where the world title will be on the line in a winner-take-all event for the first time.
The WSL Final Five will vie for the title during the finals at Trestles in Southern California in September. Igarashi is currently ranked No. 6 with 23,545 points, but is well within striking distance of Griffin Colapinto, ranked fifth with 24,235, and No. 4 Morgan Cibilic, who has 24,610, with two tour stops left.