Portugal out of the fight for medals at the Junior World Cup ISA – Surf
The Portuguese adventure at the ISA Junior World Cup in El Salvador ended, after, this Saturday, the National Team lost the last three representatives on the penultimate day of action. The National Team was thus left out of the fight for medals, both individually and collectively. Francisco Ordonhas, Maria Salgado and Matias Canhoto were the last three Portuguese in the competition, but none of them managed to make it to the final day. Matias Canhoto ended up being the best national representative, finishing in 9th place in the men’s Under-16 competition. The same position is occupied by the Portuguese team in the collective table. Maria Salgado, in women’s Under-16, was the first Portuguese to bid farewell to the competition in this long journey of repechages. The young surfer from Santa Cruz fell in round 6 of repechages, in the first heat she entered on this penultimate day, finishing the race in 16th place.
In men’s Under-18s, Francisco Ordonhas even started the day in a positive way, with a triumph in round 6 of repechages. However, in round 7 he was eliminated, bidding farewell to the final in 15th place. Two rude blows to Portuguese aspirations in terms of collective classification.
Unlike his compatriots, Matias Canhoto was the most prominent surfer. The young surfer from Peniche, just 14 years old, won his round 6 repechage heat with a score of 14.75. In round 7 winning, with 12.75 points, he came back in great shape, even in the face of strong competition.
A youngster only reached 8th in a repechage youngster, a heat where the Portuguese achieved the best score, with 7.75 points, but the last wave earned him the qualification. Even so, he finished in 9th place in the category, as the best Portuguese in this Junior ISA World Cup.
In the accounts of the collective ranking Portugal appears in 9th position, with 4173 points. Although, it can no longer improve the definition. The National Team can still climb to 8th place, the only South African representative still in the competition cannot reach the first places in the Under-18 category.
The final day of the Junior ISA World Championship is played this Sunday, with six surfers still competing in each of the four game categories. In collective terms, Hawaii is the isolated leader, with Australia in 2nd place. In the fight for the podium, France has a slight advantage over the United States.