Brazilian Luana Silva won the Junior World Surfing Championship (Under 20) this Saturday (18) after an exciting final against Japanese Kana Nakashio, in the San Juan (Philippines) stage of the World Surfing League (WSL, in its acronym in English). Luana surpassed Nakashio, until then undefeated in the tournament, by achieving a higher score in the last wave, already at the timer’s overflow. This is the country’s 10th junior world title, the first won by a woman.
“Very happy to be the first Brazilian champion. It’s surreal. Thank you to everyone who watched. I felt all this good energy. This achievement belongs to Brazil”, celebrated Luana, after the achievement, in an interview with WSL.
The smile of someone who made history! 🏄♀️🇧🇷
Luana Silva, the Junior World Surfing Champion. 🏆
📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/q06Q54nFNM
— Team Brasil (@timebrasil) January 18, 2025
The low waves during the final at Urbiztondo Beach, in San Juan, required patience and skill from the surfers. It was an even contest, with minimal differences from the start. Luana opened the heat with a score of 4.67, but afterwards, the Asian surpassed her with a score of 5.67. The two alternated ahead of the scoreboard until, in the final three minutes, Nakashio took advantage of a good wave, obtained a score of 6.00 and surpassed the Brazilian with a total of 11.67. At that time, Luana depended on a score of 5.83 to overtake Asian. The Brazilian didn’t get upset: she went down a wave as the clock ticked, surfed with style and got a score of 6.53, securing a total of 12.23 and her first junior world title.
Before advancing to the final, the Brazilian overcame heats against the North American Reid Van Wagoner and against the Basque Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri. In the semifinal, Luana defeated Australian Rosie Smart. Daughter of Brazilians, born in Hawaii (United States), Luana Silva also became this Saturday (18) the first South American to lift the Junior World Cup since 2005. The young surfer also represented Brazil at the Paris Olympics, alongside Tatiana Weston-Webb, finishing in fifth place.
THE LONG AWAITED! ⏳
MUCH AWAITED! 😍
MUCH DESERVED! 💚💛
PHOTO WITH THE TROPHY! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uGRBe6QFLr
— WSL Brasil 🇧🇷 (@WSLBrasil) January 18, 2025
Winning the Junior World Cup is an added incentive for Luana Silva, who is aiming for a place in the world surfing elite, as is Tati Weston-Webb from Rio Grande do Sul, the only female representative on the WSL professional circuit. To make her dream come true, Luana will compete from June this year in the Challenger Series: a WSL competition that will distribute 10 places for men and seven for women on the 2026 world circuit.
Luana also represented Brazil at the Paris Games, alongside Tati Weston-Webb, finishing in fifth place.
In the men’s competition, the junior world champion was Indonesian Bronson Meydi (18.80) who defeated Australian Winter Vincent (17.84).
