Australian-born surfer Connor O’Leary says he has been chosen for the Japan crew for the Paris 2024 Olympics after formally switching his allegiance to the nation of his mom’s start final yr.
O’Leary, who was raised within the south Sydney suburb of Cronulla, was granted a 3rd males’s spot by the Nippon Browsing Affiliation on Wednesday after the crew secured an additional slot for successful a qualification occasion at Huntington Seashore in 2022.
Most groups are restricted to 2 surfers of every gender for the Olympics.
“So excited to formally announce that I shall be representing Japan on the Paris 2024 Olympics. Thanks to the NSA & the JOC for the unimaginable alternative. Tahiti right here we come,” O’Leary mentioned on Instagram.
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O’Leary, a robust goofy-footer (stands together with his proper foot ahead) is comfy in heavy tubing waves together with the Olympics venue of Teahupo’o in Tahiti and shall be a giant enhance to the Japan crew, which incorporates Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Kanoa Igarashi and Reo Inaba.
Shino Matsuda is the one girl to qualify for Japan for Paris 2024.
The 30-year-old O’Leary completed eleventh on the skilled world championship tour final yr, beneath Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing who took the 2 males’s spots for the Australian Olympic crew.
O’Leary speaks Japanese and has carried Japan’s flag on his competitors shirt for a number of years, however now formally represents Japan on the world tour the place he’s ranked fifth after a strong displaying within the opening two occasions in Hawaii.
Asserting his change of allegiance in 2023, O’Leary mentioned he had not all the time embraced his twin nationwide identification whereas rising up in Cronulla, the place dozens of individuals had been injured when crowds of principally Anglo-Australians attacked folks of Center Japanese look in 2005.
“I spent lot of instances as a child, placing my Japanese heritage behind me to attempt to slot in with the Australian tradition and slot in at college,” he instructed SBS Japanese final yr.
“As I’ve grown older, I’ve matured and realised being multicultural is one thing so particular. How cool is it to be Australian but additionally Japanese, and I simply wish to spotlight that.”
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Reuters