Costa Rican Surfers Come in 4th in Chile

The Costa Rica National Surf team finished in fourth place this Sunday in the Panamerican Surf Games 2007 in Iquique, Chile. Gilbert Brown, a Puerto Viejo native, made history for the team with a third place finish. Brown topped the previous Costa Rican record in the Panamerican Surf Games’ Open division, which was held by Federico Pilurzu when he came in fourth place in 2006.

Gilbert Brown
Costa Rica Surf — Gilbert Brown photo courtesy of Philipe Demarsa

Brown said that his performance and the team’s fourth place finish was the best gift he could get for his 25th birthday, which fell on the final day of competition. He dropped to third from second place in the last five minutes when Peruvian surfer Javier Swayne jumped from fourth to first with an amazing last-minute performance.

The entire 18-member team includes: Jason Torres, Luis Vindas, Diego Naranjo, Gilbert Brown, Lisbeth Vindas, Nataly Bernold, Jairo Pérez, Carlos Muñoz, Jimena Calvo, Silvio Mantel, José Calderón, Orlando Solís, and Mauricio Umaña. They earned 20,267 points overall, trailing Peru in 3rd, Chile in 2nd, and first place champions Brazil who earned 29,992 points.

Federico Pilurzu could not compete in the Panamerican Games because he was taking part in the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the first event in the Hawaii Triple Crown series. He is the first Costa Rican in history to take part in this World Qualifying Series’ (WQS) event.

However, Pilruzu was disqualified in the second round when he came in 4th place in a very tight heat, just 0.66 points away from second place. The rules state that only the top two from each heat can advance to the third round. Pilurzu, who is currently ranked 99th in the world, will have to wait until the next Hawaii Triple Crown event, which will begin on Nov. 25 in Sunset Beach, Hawaii.

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