Tokyo Olympics 2021: Cibilic, Wright, Nichols ready to dominate surfing at Paris 2024
An emotional Sally Fitzgibbons turned her attention straight to Paris after her Tokyo surfing exit, telling the world to ‘watch out’. These 10 Aussie surfers are ready for gold in 2024.
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An emotional Sally Fitzgibbons moved through the gamut of emotions following her quarterfinal exit at Tokyo 2020 but the Aussie star ended with a promise for Paris in three years’ time: “Watch out, the Aussies are definitely coming”.
And Fitzgibbons, who will be 33 when the 2024 Summer Games roll around, vowed to fight for a return after getting her first taste of the Olympics at Tsurigasaki Beach.
“It’s close – close enough,” she said following Tuesday’s loss to Amuro Tsuzuki of Japan.
“There’s so many Aussies that could represent us and I sure hope it’s me, but we have such a strong future of young surfers now at home and they’re coming into their prime, too.
“When you think of Paris watch out, the Aussies are definitely coming.”
So who are the next wave of Australian Olympic surfers we can expect to see in Paris?
Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW)
The easiest and most obvious answer is Fitzgibbons, who will be 33 when the Olympics head to Paris. The perennial WSL Championship Tour title contender may not own a world championship crown but has finished runner-up, thrice, and is still in the mix to make 2021 her crowning season. Fitzgibbons’ form on the CT this year – and her recent ISA World Surfing Games gold medal win in El Salvador – proves she has the rides in her to make a return in 2024.
Tyler Wright (Gerroa, NSW)
Sister to 2020 Olympian Owen, Tyler Wright leads the line as the next wave of world-class female surfers from Australia. The two-time world champion (2016, 2017) will be 30 by the time Paris comes around primed to take one of the two female spots up for grabs.
Stephanie Gilmore (Kingscliff, NSW)
You can never rule out a seven-time world champion, and Gilmore spoke of fellow surfing legend Kelly Slater’s resilience on the CT as proof she can surf her way to Paris even as 36-year-old. Gilmore’s shock loss on day two at Tsurigasaki Beach cut to the core of one of the GOATs of the game – but perhaps that early exit is the spark she needs to make a run at 2024.
Isabella Nichols (Coolum, Queensland)
Part of the next wave of incredible young surfers as mentioned by Fitzgibbons is Queenslander Nichols, who at 23 currently sits eighth on the CT just behind compatriot Tyler Wright. Nichols won the 2019 Qualifying Series to cement her spot in the CT and will be coming into her surfing prime in 2024.
Molly Picklum (Shelly Beach, NSW)
Picklum, 18, leads the Oceania Qualifying Series with three wins out of four events in 2021. The teenager’s best is yet to come and perhaps, by 2024, she will be making waves on the CT and even at the Olympics.
Morgan Cibilic (Merewether, NSW)
Perhaps the biggest surprise packet on the CT in 2021 is Cibilic, who jumped more than 100 spots in the Qualifying Series in 2019 to secure his place on world surfing’s big stage. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength, bagging a third-place finish in the Newcastle Cup and second at the Rottnest Search – both behind 2020 Olympian Gabriel Medina – to currently sit fourth on the men’s CT rankings. Still just 21, Cibilic could represent Australia at Paris and beyond if he continues his upward trajectory.
Julian Wilson (Coolum, Queensland)
Wilson’s Olympic debut was cut short in controversial circumstances when he lost to Gabriel Medina in the third round following a rejected appeal and questions over scoring.
Regardless the Queenslander confirmed it would be his last competitive surfing event for the foreseeable future, with plans to step away from the CT to spend time with family.
But the 32-year-old, who remains one of world surfing’s biggest fan favourites, did not rule out a return to the tour if and when international travel restrictions are removed.
If the likes of Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning have proved anything, it’s that you can still surf at a world-class level well into your mid-late 30s, leaving the door open for a Wilson return in Paris.
Liam O’Brien (Gold Coast, Queensland)
The 20-year-old prodigy from Burleigh has gotten a taste of life on surfing’s big stage this year as a replacement for Kelly Slater in two of the CT’s recent legs.
In his debut at Rottnest O’Brien finished third to fellow Aussie Morgan Cibilic, and was among a stacked group at the Surf Ranche in Lemoore, California just prior to the Olympics.
Like Cibilic, O’Brien is a young up and comer with stacks of talent that could get him into the Paris conversation if his trajectory continues.
Owen Wright (Lennox Heads, NSW)
It’s hard to go past Australia’s top-ranked Olympian in Tokyo to repeat his efforts in three years’ time at Paris. Wright will be 34 in 2024 and with the allure of potentially surfing alongside sister Tyler at an Olympics, he may just claim one of the two possible male spots.
Ryan Callinan (Newcastle, NSW)
The 29-year-old’s rollercoaster pro surfing career looks to have turned a corner in 2021, with Callinan enjoying a top 15 position in the CT heading into the year’s final stages. A second to fellow Aussie Julian Wilson at the Quiksilver Pro France in 2018 proves Callinan has the runs on the board in the 2024 host country to not be counted out of contention.
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