By: Olympics / Image: Olympics
Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira was one of the 40 surfers making their debuts on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stage in 2021. And he made history by winning the gold medal.
When Ítalo started surfing, he didn't even have a board. To get into the water, he borrowed from his cousins, who were happily happy to help
At the age of 12, the young surfer's life changed completely, when he was discovered by Luís 'Pinga' Campos. Campos is responsible for revealing almost all of surfing's notable Brazilians of the past 10 years, and identified Ferreira's potential in a junior competition in Ponta Negra.
Campos quickly took the young talent under his wing and, by 2011, the Brazilian was already competing at the Junior World Championships, winning two rounds and finishing as runner-up in the overall category. In 2015, he made a giant leap into the World Tour – surfing's elite arena – and in his rookie season, he has already started to catch everyone's attention. Ferreira won the title of "Revelation of the Year" after his 7th place on the circuit.
After three tournament victories in 2018, the surfer from Baía Formosa/RN entered the 2019 season full of confidence. He kicked things off with a win at Gold Coash, then secured a second-place finish in South Africa and France, before coming first, again, in Portugal. The last event of the year in Hawaii, the Billabong Pipeline Masters, was intensely contested between Ferreira and compatriot Gabriel Medina. Ítalo won and secured the world title.
In surfing's debut at the Olympic Games, the Brazilian went to the top of the podium in the men's tournament, in the waters of Chiba, during Tokyo 2020.
https://olympics.com/pt/atletas/italo-ferreira
