Italian
Leonardo Fioravanti makes history by becoming the first Italian to win an event of the Surf Championship Tour.
EL SALVADOR – An athlete used to making history in Italian surfing. The first to qualify in 2017 for the World Surf League and then participate in the Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024). Only one major historic step was missing. And here, among the waves of El Salvador, in Central America, Leonardo Fioravanti becomes the first Italian to win an event of the Surf Championship Tour.
It is literally a triumphant ride for the blue who in the second round narrowly defeats the Brazilian Mateus Herdy with a score of 15.04 (7.77 + 7.27) to 14.70 (7.83 + 6.87). Next up is the other carioca Samuel Pupo, who is surpassed on the last attempt with a score of 15.50 (8.17 + 7.33) to 14.27 (8.60 + 5.67).
In the quarter-finals, it’s the turn of the Frenchman Marco Mignot with 15.93 (9.00 + 6.93) against 13.00 (7.17 + 5.83). The semi-final is instead against the Japanese Igarashi Kanoa – 12.00 (8.50 + 3.50) against 10.10 (5.27 + 4.83).
In the final, the world number one, another Brazilian, Italo Ferreira. The Italian makes history with a score of 15.33 (8.33 + 7.00) to 10.90 (7.50 + 3.40).
A success long dreamed of that allows Fioravanti to move up six positions, placing him third in the overall standings, the only non-Brazilian among the top six in the ranking.
The statements
The words of an extremely emotional Fioravanti after the success “I can’t believe it. For so many years I believed in it, I never gave up. The last final last year really broke my heart, but at the same time I never gave up, I kept my head up. I believe it hurt more the people around me than myself, because I tried to move forward, to keep thinking positively. You know when you say that your moment will come? I kept believing it, and I felt that my surfing was there. But one thing is to surf well, another is to be the best in the world. I can’t believe it, I love my family, Bailey, mom, grandma, my brother. There are so many people to thank.”
Photo World Surf League
