First Eliminations on Day 3 of 2026 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
Defending Team Champion Australia Maintains Perfect Start With Wins Across the Board
Rory Dace Smashes Through His Repecharge Heat With Powerful Win
Sol Borelli (ESP) Battles Back to Begin Title Defense With Strong Victory
Family Affair: Victoria Duprat (USA) Shines With Support From Coach Dad and Shaper Mom
Veteran Romeo Chávez (COL) Rallies in Repechage to Keep Final Junior Campaign Alive
Surf City El Salvador – September 7, 2026
Day three of the 2026 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) saw the first eliminations of the event take place, with the repechage round beginning for both U/16 divisions, along with U/18 Boys, following the completion of Main Round 1 for U/18 Girls and U/16 Boys. Surf City continued to live up to its name, with four-to-five-foot swell providing ample opportunity for the peak of La Bocana and the long, right point of El Sunzal.
Due to the size of the field, only a single round of repechage will take place for each division. This guarantees at least two heats for every surfer in the event but determines that every heat moving forward will result in direct elimination for those who don’t advance.
Although many teams took big hits today, Zimbabwe’s first-ever representative at the ISA, Marcello Luca Zedde (ZIM), progressed through his U/16 Main Round 1 heat before going on to win the first heat for his nation in U/18 Boys repechage and keep himself active in the draw in both age divisions
Team Australia. Credit: ISA / Sean Evans
Defending Team Champion Australia Maintains Perfect Start With Wins Across the Board
With the completion of Main Round 1 across all divisions, Australia, the back-to-back defending Team Champion, stood alone in securing heat wins for all 12 of their team members. The sole team member to compete today, co-captain Stella Green (AUS), locked in the equal-highest single-wave score of U/18 Girls competition for the day, a 7.33, in her ISA debut. Green’s forehand attack on a long La Bocana right that continued to offer opportunity down the line earned the high score, backed up by a 5.33 earned on the left to secure a convincing victory for the 18-year-old.
“The conditions are pretty fun today. There are still a couple of big roll-in sets, but it was good to get my heat going and my boards are feeling good, so I’m pretty happy with my result,” Green said. “It’s pretty special to be captain of the team. They’re all such a good crew and we’re all having the best time. This place is insane, pretty hot to be honest, but I love it. It’s such a different aspect to home and I’m loving it. I felt the nerves just before paddling out, especially after waiting three days for the first heat, but it’s good to get it going and hopefully I keep on going.”
Sol Borelli, Team Spain. Credit: ISA / Sean Evans
Sol Borelli Battles Back to Begin Title Defense With Strong Victory
Sol Borelli (ESP) didn’t expect her return to the WJSC to begin with multiple sets on the head, but the defending U/18 Girls champion managed to fight back in a big way. With no notable scores on the board by the halfway point of the heat, Borelli found a sizable La Bocana left that offered her multiple sections on the inside to lay her rail into for a 7.33. A 6.50 soon followed, seeing the 18-year-old lock in a 13.83 two-wave total.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning of my first heat, but I came back and could put together a really good score,” Borelli said. “Not what I was expecting, but it’s good for a first heat. Winning gold last year in Peru for Spain was so incredible. It was my dream, and Peru is so special because I lived there for six years and that was my favorite wave in Peru. I was with my team, all the boys supporting, my family and friends from home, that was so special.”
A tight battle for second played out behind Borelli thanks to Julia Heijmans (NED) building her scoreline while avoiding the early sets. Chiara Cuppone (ITA) fought back, however, after finding her best score late in the heat to earn her place in Round 2.
Michel Demétrio, Team Brazil. Credit: ISA / Jersson Barboza
Strong Performances Keep Brazil’s Full Team Alive Through Round 1
Continuing the success of Brazilian goofyfooters so far in the event, Michel Demétrio (BRA) found a Sunzal gem that allowed multiple direct hits to the lipline, resulting in an excellent 8.00. Demétrio’s U/16 Boys heat win, combined with those of Maria Clara (BRA) and Valentina Zanoni (BRA) in U/18 Girls saw the 2023 Team Champion move into Round 2 with their full team intact. Competing in her first ISA event, Zanoni was excited to win her opening heat and is loving being a part of the team.
“I made my waves and I like my backside, so it was a comfortable wave for me,” Zanoni said. “It’s my first time at the ISA World Juniors and I’m only 15 years old, so I’m really happy. I just want to relax and do my surfing heat by heat, that’s it. I think this is my third time here and I really like this wave. Team Brazil, I think, is the best one, I’m sorry! The guys are so cool and it’s good to stay with the team. The Brazil coaches are really good.”
Victoria Duprat, Team USA. Credit: ISA / Sean Evans
Family Affair: Victoria Duprat Shines With Support From Coach Dad and Shaper Mom
The sharp backhand attack of Victoria Duprat (USA) provided the 17-year-old with some of the highest scores of the morning. A two-turn combo earned a 7.17, before a 6.50 was added for a 13.67 heat total. Duprat represents a unique surfing family that includes having her father as coach and her mother, Valerie, as shaper. The founder of Mère-Made Surfboards, Valerie is one of the leading female shapers in the industry and has shaped Victoria’s full quiver for her since she was 8.
“I’ve been waiting a couple of days for my heat and the waves are just pumping, so I was so excited to go surf,” Duprat said. “It’s such a nice dynamic to have my mom as a shaper at home and my dad coaching me. Surfing is our family lifestyle, so it’s super cool to have their support and to be able to surf her boards in an international event. With big events like this I try not to think about the pressure and the cameras and everything. I just try to stay with my team and be present, and not think too much about how the contest is going to go.”
Romeo Chávez, Team Colombia. Credit: ISA / Jersson Barboza
Veteran Romeo Chávez Rallies in Repechage to Keep Final Junior Campaign Alive
First competing in the WJSC in 2018 at the age of 10, Romeo Chávez (COL) enters his last year as a junior as one of the longest-standing veterans in the draw. Chávez peaked with a 5th place finish the last time the event was held in El Salvador, narrowly missing out on a medal. A shock relegation in one of the first heats of competition this week sent the 18-year-old straight into repechage, where he bounced back in a big way today, unleashing his backhand on the walls of El Sunzal to post a solid 15.20 heat total.
“Having a good heat improves everything. It clears your mind, leaves you more confident, better prepared and ready for the next rounds. God has a purpose for me. Unfortunately I’ve been through an injury that has kept me in quite a bit of pain, but thank God there’s a repechage round and we managed to get through and perform. What happened is already in the past and right now you’ll get the best of me. I hope for a good result. The time with my team, the friendships you make, meeting good people, that is the best thing this event has brought me.”
The South African surfing community is mourning the death of Thys Lombard, who suffered a medical emergency while competing in the Vintners Surf Classic at Jongensfontein on Friday.
Lombard, 61, from Stellenbosch, was surfing in the 26th annual Vintners Surf Classic when he collapsed unconscious in the water at Sandstrand, Jongensfontein.
Fellow surfers immediately came to his assistance, bringing him through the surf and onto the beach. CPR was started on the shoreline while emergency services were alerted.
Emergency Response at Jongensfontein
NSRI Still Bay was called to the scene, while the rescue craft Breede Rescuer, which was already on the water near the surfing competition, diverted to assist.
Two NSRI crew members swam ashore from the rescue craft and joined the CPR efforts already underway.
Additional NSRI crew, NSRI medics and Western Cape Government Health EMS paramedics also responded and continued efforts to resuscitate Lombard.
Despite extensive attempts to save him, he was declared deceased at the scene.
Police attended, and his body was taken into the care of the Government Health Forensic Pathology Services. An inquest docket has been opened.
A Familiar Face in South African Surfing
Lombard was a friend of the St Francis Today editor, a well-known within surfing circles, and was a familiar face behind the camera at major surfing events.
He also spent time photographing the JBay Open, documenting some of the world’s best surfers at Supertubes and becoming part of the wider group of photographers, surfers and characters who return to Jeffreys Bay for the event.
His death during a surfing contest has consequently been felt well beyond those gathered at Jongensfontein on Friday.
The Vintners Surf Classic has been part of the South African surfing calendar for more than two decades and brings together surfers from the country’s wine industry for a weekend of competition and camaraderie.
Our condolences go to Thys Lombard’s family and friends, as well as his fellow surfers and everyone who knew him through the South African surfing community.
A short but impactful day opened the Outerknown Tahiti Pro Presented by I-SEA, Stop No. 7 of the 2026 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). A wind-affected, six-to-eight-foot swell set the scene for the opening heats of competition, as heavy barrels earned early excellence under gloomy skies.
The 11-time World Champion kicked straight back into the competitive mindset that has set him apart from all others in the history of the sport.
“It’s sort of like riding a bike, but you forget how gnarly Teahupo’o is,” Slater said. “You’ve got to just jump back on the horse out here. I won’t say I started slow, but I definitely built. Each wave was kind of bigger and better until I maxed out on that 9, and then I had a no-hander after that that was pretty clean. I think I had four or five waves, and most of my scores were building until the end. I don’t have anything to prove here, but when you put the vest on and paddle out, you need to feel like you have something to prove, especially in waves like this. I also went out there trying to be relaxed and really in the moment. When you’re not in the environment of competition all the time, it’s not easy to stay in that mindset. I felt like I kind of locked back in during that heat.”
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: An empty wave during Heat 4 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/World Surf League)
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: Oscar Berry of Australia surfs in Heat 1 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Hannah Anderson/World Surf League)
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: An empty wave during Heat 2 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/World Surf League)
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: Eli Hanneman of Hawaii surfs in Heat 4 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Hannah Anderson/World Surf League)
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: Eli Hanneman of Hawaii surfs in Heat 4 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/World Surf League)
TEAHUPOʻO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 8: Eimeo Czermak of French Polynesia surfs in Heat 3 of Round One at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 8, 2026 at Teahupoʻo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/World Surf League)
When winter starts to feel endless, there is a simple solution. Point yourself towards Mauritius, where sunshine replaces cold fronts and every day begins with the promise of warm seas, gentle breezes and absolutely nowhere you need to be.
Also, modern life has become exhausting.
Every day comes with another challenge, another notification and another expert telling you to optimise your morning routine. Count your steps. Count your calories. Drink green juice. Lift heavier things. Sleep better. Work harder.
Or…
Go to a resort in Mauritius.
Wake up whenever you feel like it. Wander to breakfast in your sandals. Have another croissant because nobody has ever returned from Mauritius wishing they had eaten less pastry.
By 11 am, order a strong cocktail. It is holiday o’clock. There are no meetings. No deadlines. No smartwatch telling you to stand up because you’ve been sitting too long. Sitting is exactly what you came for.
Move slowly to the pool. Or don’t. The beach is also an excellent place to achieve absolutely nothing. Find a lounger, apply sunscreen with great commitment, then spend the next four hours admiring the ocean, reading three pages of a novel and wondering if it is too early for lunch.
It isn’t.
Lunch should be long. Dessert should be compulsory. The seafood should be fresh. The portions should be generous. The only thing getting a workout should be the buffet.
After lunch, have a massage. Then recover from the massage with a nap. Wake up just in time for another swim, another cocktail and another spectacular sunset that asks nothing of you except to sit still and enjoy it.
Dinner is another excuse to eat far more than you planned. Try everything. Go back for seconds. Pretend calories cannot swim across the Indian Ocean.
Tomorrow you can do it all again.
You do not need to become a better version of yourself every single day. Sometimes the best version of yourself is the one lying on a beach, slightly sunburnt, completely relaxed and wondering whether to order another mojito or simply stay exactly where you are.
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