Bronze Medal For Morse, Kiwis Finish Eighth Overall

An
outstanding
bronze
medal
finish
by
New
Zealand’s
Alani
Morse
has
led
the
Junior
Surfing
Team
to
eighth
overall
at
the
2026
ISA
World
Junior
Surfing
Championships
completed
in
El
Salvador
this
morning
(Monday
NZT).

Morse
dedicated
the
win
to
her
late
Nan
who
passed
away
two
weeks
before
she
departed
for
El
Salvador.

“She
was
my
biggest
supporter
and
my
best
friend.
She
inspired
me
to
chase
my
dreams
and
gave
me
such
a
drive
to
go
as
far
as
I
could
in
this
event.
I
could
feel
her
cheering
me
on
this
whole
event”
said
Morse
post
final.

The
podium
result
is
the
best
in
19
years
by
a
Kiwi
surfer
with
the
team
placing
also
the
best
since
the
event
was
held
in
New
Zealand
in
2010.

“Honestly,
I
don’t
think
it’s
gonna
settle
in
for
a
few
days.
I’ve
been
mentally
visualizing
this
moment
for
months,
planning
every
step
of
the
way
from
travelling
to
El
Salvador
to
the
closing
ceremony.
It’s
hard
not
to
think
it’s
just
me
daydreaming.
I’ve
always
dreamed
of
being
an
ISA
medallist,
so
it
just
doesn’t
seem
real
yet,”
added
Morse
of
her
performance.

In
the
final,
she
finished
with
an
8.37-point
total,
held
in
messy
1.0m
waves
that
were
impacted
by
onshore
winds
in
the
afternoon.
It
was
a
low
scoring
affair,
Morse
stuck
the
lefthanders
on
the
La
Bocana
podium
which
served
her
well
in
the
semifinals
earlier
in
the
day.

The
shifty
peaks
made
big
scores
challenging
but
Alani
kept
up
pace
until
the
dying
stages
of
the
heat
when
she
eventually
needed
a
7.97
point
ride
for
victory
after
Australian
surfer
Lucy
Darragh
stormed
away
with
the
gold
medal.

“I
didn’t
really
get
the
chance
to
fire
up
in
the
final
like
my
semis
but
I
definitely
believe
that
I
was
capable
of
getting
the
win
through
the
final.
At
the
end
of
the
day
the
waves
just
didn’t
come
and
it
just
wasn’t
in
my
favour.
I
was
ok
with
that
and
I
was
just
so
freaking
happy
to
be
in
the
final
and
have
a
shot
at
the
win
anyway.”

Darragh
finished
in
first
ahead
of
Zoe
Panettiere
(USA)
in
second
with
Tahitian
surfer
Takihei
Ellacott
finishing
in
fourth.

Morse
missed
her
flight
to
Brazil
this
evening
after
making
it
through
to
today’s
final
and
is
now
on
rescheduled
to
fly
before
competing
at
an
international
QS6000
event
which
starts
in
less
than
24
hours.

“Of
course
it
was
extremely
worth
it,”
said
Morse
about
missing
the
flight.
“I
am
just
celebrating
as
I
go
and
heading
to
Brazil
is
a
bit
of
a
celebration
in
itself.
I
am
competing
only
a
day
after
I
arrive
so
there
won’t
be
much
rest.
That’s
just
the
life
of
an
athlete
but
I
think
I’ll
just
be
running
off
excitement
and
adrenaline
for
the
next
few
days,”
said
Morse.

Earlier
in
the
day
it
was
Morse
and
Ellacott
that
upset
the
highly
touted
Australian
Talia
Tebb
in
the
semifinals
to
advance
for
a
shot
at
the
title.

On
the
penultimate
day
of
the
event,
Alexis
Owen
surfed
to
equal
tenth
in
the
Under
18
Boys
Division
after
two
heats
on
the
day
while
Pauanui
surfer
Lola
Groube
exited
the
event
in
19^th
overall
in
the
Under
16
Girls
Division.

The
2026
edition
of
the
event
comprised
474
surfers
from
56
countries
across
the
four
divisions.

El
Salvador
is
no
stranger
to
the
event
having
hosted
the
World
Junior
Championships
on
several
occasions
before
it
skipped
down
to
Peru
for
the
2025
edition
at
which
the
team
placed
tenth
overall.
El
Salvador
will
also
be
the
venue
for
the
first
major
Olympic
qualification
opportunity
for
our
top
surfers
in
May
next
year.

Full
results
can
be
viewed
on
the

ISA
website
here.

New

Zealand
Junior
Surfing
Team
Results

Team
Results
1^st
–
Australia,
8,078
2^nd
–
USA,
6,048
3^rd
–
Brazil,
5,430
4^th
–
Peru,
5,293
5^th
–
Japan,
5,035
6^th
–
Hawaii,
5,012
7^th
–
Spain,
4,625
8^th
–
New
Zealand,
4,542
9^th
–
France,
4,416
10^th
–
Portugal,
4,095

Under
18
Boys

Alexis
Owen
(Dun)
–
10^th
Sev
Tolhurst
(Piha)
–
37^th
Van
Camenzind
(Rag)
–
55^th

Under
18
Girls

Poppy
Arkle
(Piha)
–
13^th
Kyra
Wallis
(Piha)
–
25^th
Poppy
Entwisle
(Tara)
–
73rd

Under
16
Boys

Sol
Fritchley
(Mnt)
–
19^th
Jesse
Frazerhurst
(Auck)
–
25^th
Zeke
Pragert
(Piha)
–
25^th

Under
16
Girls

Alani
Morse
(Rag)
–
3^rd
Lola
Groube
(Pau)
–
19^th
Zara
Owen
(Dun)
–
25^th

About
International
Surfing
Association
(ISA)
The

International
Surfing
Association
(ISA)
is
recognised
by
the
International
Olympic
Committee
(IOC)
as
the
World
Governing
Authority
for
surfing,
bodyboarding,
SUP
and
surfing.
It
was
originally
founded
as
the
International
Surfing
Federation
in
1964
and
has been
running
world
championships
since
1964,
and
the
Junior
World
Championships
since
1980.

Further
Information
For
further
information
on
the
New
Zealand
Junior
Surfing
Team
please
contact
Surfing
New
Zealand’s
Ben
Kennings
on
021
2278732
or
email

benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.