Surfer Brisa Hennesy became, last Sunday, the 5th Costa Rican athlete qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The surfer received a blanket with the national colors and a few words to welcome her to the maximum fair of the Olympic sport. “It is my dream and I have no words; I am very grateful for your incredible support and we are going with everything for Tokyo 2020”, said our national representative.
Hennessy achieved its classification to the Games after finishing better ranked than the New Zealand Paige Hareb in the last test of the year, in the so-called “Championship Tour 2019”.
Hareb needed to win in the last tournament of the year played in Hawaii. However, she stayed on the road without being able to fulfill her goal, which ended up sealing the ticket to the Costa Rican.
Her origins
Hennessy was born on September 16th, 1999, in San José and lived in Mata Palo de Osa, Puntarenas, until she was 10. Then, she moved to Hawaii with her parents and began competing for that country.
Her talent is such that, in 2017, she became the ISA Junior World Champion. Hennesy always said she felt Costa Rican and, at the beginning of 2018, she began her process in front of the ISA to compete representing Costa Rica. “I miss the rooster a lot, the waves, and all the people. The truth is that Costa Rica is a very special place”, she said at the time.
In the end, the ISA gave its endorsement and, last year, Brisa became the first Costa Rican to dispute the maximum world surf tour, where she also m anaged to maintain that position to continue competing in 2020.
Now her talent takes her to the Olympic Games in where for her countrywoman Andrea Carolina Vargas is also classified in the 100-meter hurdles, the cyclist Kenneth Tencio of BMX Freestyle, and 2 road cyclists (man and woman). Soon, the Costa Rican Cycling Federation will give their names.
Surfing competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will take place at Tsurigasaki Beach, located in the town of Ichinomiya, southeast of Tokyo, in August 2020.
