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Championship Tour surfer Connor O’Leary will be representing Japan on the 2024 WSL World tour. The decision was “made internally” in October 2022, but the surfer took to Instagram Friday to officially announce the change in allegiance. This will give him a much sought after chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics in one of Japan’s three qualification slots.
Though O’Leary was born and raised in Cronulla (a suburb of Sydney), his mother is Akemi Karasawa, a former pro surfer from Japan. For years, now, O’Leary has sported a Japanese flag on his competition rashguard as a nod to his heritage, but now O’Leary will be able to officially represent Japan on the 2024 WSL World Tour.
“I will also seek representation for Japan at the Paris 2024 Olympics by competing in the next ISA World Surfing Games,” he continued in the post.
As a result of Kanoa Igarashi’s win at the 2022 ISA world surfing games, Japan has three slots for the Paris Olympics, one more than most other countries. Igarashi then secured one of those slots for himself at the 2023 ISA Games in El Salvador. O’Leary is currently ranked 11th in the WSL standings, making him just out of reach of qualifying via the tour.
Apart from being a tactical move that might secure him an Olympic bid, the decision was also a personal one for O’Leary. “After much reflection and consideration I am choosing Japan,” wrote O’Leary. “I’m choosing to represent my family’s heritage, and my cultural background.”
O’Leary isn’t the first surfer to opt to represent a country different from the one they grew up in. American Tatiana Weston-Webb has had great success under the Brazilian flag, and American Erin Brooks was recently suspended from competing as a Canadian by the ISA.
