Barbadian Surfers Shine at 17th Pan American Surfing Games in Lima, Peru

Tuach has made a brilliant start in her pursuit of a gold medal at the 17th Pan American Surfing Games, winning heat eight.

A top contender for a podium finish, Tuach entered the waters at the High Performance Surf Centre in Punta Rocas, Lima, Peru, yesterday morning, delivering a winning score of 10.83.

Competing in the women’s shortboard, Tuach advanced to round two after showcasing her experience with impressive manoeuvres, outperforming her rivals, Mexico’s Maya Tapia (10.10) and Algeria Larripa (9.27), who finished second and third, respectively.

During an interview, Tuach expressed satisfaction with her overall performance, despite admitting the waves were challenging, requiring her to stay patient.

“I was just patient, and that last wave came through, and I made it count,” she said.

Though the waters in Peru are cold and less turbulent compared to the Soup Bowl in Bathsheba, Tuach emphasised that she still enjoys competing in South America and is eager for the next round.

Later in the day, fellow Barbadians Kai St George and Noah Campbell competed in the men’s longboard repechage, earning their way back into the main draw.

After missing out in Round One on Tuesday, St George, wearing a blue shirt, found success in heat three of the repechage, scoring 10.00 ahead of Ecuador’s Angelo Franco (7.77) and Mexico’s Pablo Acuña (6.40).

Outfitted in a yellow shirt, Campbell secured second place in heat two with a score of 7.96, behind Puerto Rico’s Rio Donaldson, who amassed 12.44 points.

Following his performance in the repechage, an elated St George said, “I was riding a light high-performance board because I wasn’t expecting it to be so choppy. It was a bit difficult, but I’m used to riding that board at home, so it feels really good.”

He added, “The waves are quite similar to those on the East Coast of Barbados. We had a competition two or three weeks ago, and the conditions were similar to this.” (ML)