- One of the first professional surfers, Becky Benson (HAW), wins first-ever heat in international competition for women over 60
- Strong showings for returning ISA medalists topped by Gary Van Wieringen (RSA) and Melanie Bartels (HAW)
- Impressive start for back-to-back defending team champion Hawaii
Surf City El Salvador – October 20, 2024
The opening day of the 2024 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Masters Surfing Championship (WMSC) saw the world’s best surfers over the age of 40, including multiple legends of surfing, performing in international competition for the first time in many years.
Clean, three-to-four foot swell built throughout the day, delivering the long, right walls that Surf City El Salvador’s El Sunzal is known for. The ideal conditions allowed for the completion of Main Round 1 in five of the six divisions, which included women’s Kahunas (over 60) and Grand Masters (over 50) for the first time ever.
In 1976, Becky Benson (HAW) paved the way as one of six women to compete in the first iteration of a professional surfing tour. In 2024, Benson is still leading the charge, winning the first-ever heat in international competition for women over the age of 60. The 67-year-old posted the highest single wave score of the new women’s Kahunas division on the very first wave of the event. Flying down the line and carving through the face, Benson’s smooth style shone, as it has for nearly 60 years at her home on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
“I’m so happy and so honored to be here, it’s just great,” Benson said. “I can’t even describe the feeling. I’m proud to be one of the first of the six professional women. That was 1976, and look where it’s come now. At that time, the one reason I stopped competing was because there just wasn’t any money, and it was hard to go on tour. Now the women can make a living, they can travel and surf and do what they love.”
Strong showings for returning ISA medalists topped by Gary Van Wieringen (RSA) and Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Gary Van Wieringen (RSA) took top honors for the men today with a giant 18.26 heat total. The 51-year-old South African’s lively top-to-bottom attack saw him pick up the two highest wave scores in the Grand Masters (over 50) division, a 9.43 and an 8.83, in his return to El Salvador, the location where he won the 2011 Masters Silver Medal.
Returning Masters World Champions Tom Curren (USA), Rochelle Ballard (HAW), Rodney Baldwin (AUS), Mike Latronic (HAW), and Heather Clark (RSA) all proved why they own so many accolades, displaying the unique lines and approaches that defined their professional careers and took them to their individual WMSC victories over a decade ago.
Curren’s iconic style was on full display in the familiar setting of a long, right point. The three-time WSL Champion, who is the only surfer to have won an ISA Gold Medal in Junior, Open and Masters divisions was excited to be back competing in El Salvador.
“It’s just great to be here with the team,” Curren said. “It’s a long way to get to (another gold medal) but I was glad to get the first heat. It felt pretty good.”
Clark is also one of five women in the draw to have placed in ISA World Surfing Games (WSG) Finals. 1992 WSG Finalist Patricia Rossi (TAH) and 2004 WSG Bronze Medalist Andrea Lopes (BRA) have already won WMSC medals and both progressed through their respective heats. Meanwhile, multiple-time WSG Medalists Melanie Bartels (HAW) and Jacqueline Silva (BRA) had exceptionally strong showings as they made their WMSC debuts in back-to-back heats.
Bartels made a statement with an opening 8.90 building to a 9.43, her 18.33 heat total topping the day’s numbers. The 42-year-old showed all of the spark that gave her the reputation of being one of the forebears of progression in women’s surfing as she lit up two of the biggest waves of the day.
Impressive start for back-to-back defending team champion Hawaii
A solid Hawaiian team enters the event looking to continue their run of back-to-back Team Gold Medals from the two previous events in 2012 and 2013. All five of the Hawaiians competing today progressed through the Main Round, including 2012 Masters Gold Medalist Rochelle Ballard (HAW), 2013 Kahunas Gold Medalist, Mike Latronic (HAW), Becky Benson (HAW), Shuji Kasuya (HAW) and Melanie Bartels (HAW). Their remaining team member, Jason Shibata (HAW), will compete when competition resumes tomorrow.
Ballard went straight to work in her campaign to back up her Gold Medal. The 2004 WSL World Title runner-up posted the first excellent score of the event, a 9.00, for a series of strong, flowing turns. With a 7.17 backup, the 53-year-old collected an excellent 16.17 heat total.
“It’s been great,” Ballard said. “We’re all about team and aloha and supporting each other. We’ve been cooking together and eating together, surfing together, watching footage together, and that’s just the team spirit. So we’re all there to pump each other up and support each other and coach each other.”
The next call will be tomorrow at 7:15am CST for a potential 7:30am start with men’s Masters Main Round 1.