Sanoa Dempfle-Olin of Tofino was already in the back of the Canadian team pick-up truck Monday when she was asked to scramble off for an impromptu presentation and was handed her official Paris 2024 ticket as she qualified sa国际传媒 for its first surfing berth in the Olympic Games.
“It feels unreal. Earning this spot is a dream come true for me. I honestly can’t believe it. I just feel super grateful for my family, my friends, and my whole team,” 18-year-old Dempfle-Olin said in her media scrum.
“Having the opportunity to head to Paris 2024 is something. I don’t even know what that looks like yet. I’m definitely very excited and I can’t believe it. I’m just very grateful and I’m excited to see where it brings me with all of the fun times and the learning that is going to come with it.”
Dempfle-Olin beat Leilani McGonagle of Costa Rica 10.0 points to 4.2 in the head-to-head semifinal Monday of the medal round at the Santiago Pan American Games and advanced to meet Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil in the gold-medal final and settled for the silver after Weston-Webb won 12.33 points to 10.13. Both the gold- and silver-medallists qualified their nations for spots in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Because the two finalists were guaranteed Olympic berths, the semifinal was nerve-wracking because so much was at stake in the result.
“The semifinal that had me qualify into the Olympics was super stressful and challenging. It is almost hard to remember. I was so in the zone,” said Dempfle-Olin.
It was the second consecutive medal for the Tofino family as older sister Mathea Dempfle-Olin won bronze in the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games.
The surfing competition of the Paris Olympics will take place in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, where Sanoa and Mathea both competed in the Paris Olympics test event last month on the legendary waves known as the Wall of Skulls.
The 44 Island or Island-based athletes on the 473-member Canadian team at the 2023 Pan Am Games have accounted for nine medals so far.
Victoria cyclist Riley Pickrell placed eighth Sunday in the Pan Am Games road race.
“The crowds were insane, like nothing I’ve ever raced in before,” said Pickrell, in a statement.
“I wasn’t able to hear myself breathe and I was breathing really hard. It’s a crazy experience: there’s drums, there’s flares, there’s smoke.”
PAN AM GAMES NOTES: Dylan French of Richmond won gold in fencing and Shady El Nahas of Torono gold in judo Monday … Swimmer Jeremy Bagshaw of Victoria won 4x200 relay bronze and not as reported in Sunday’s edition.
