The man who discovered Ítalo Ferreira, Brazil’s surfing gold medalist

Brazil’s first gold in the Tokyo Olympics was something of a banker, with 27-year-old Ítalo Ferreira beating Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi in the men’s surfing final in the early hours of Tuesday morning. There was some expectation that we would see an all-Brazilian final, but two-time world champion Gabriel Medina lost out in the semis and then missed his chance for a bronze medal against Australia’s Owen Wright.

However, the fact that Brazil may feel slightly aggrieved at not dominating the podium shows just how dominant the country has become in an elite surfing competition.

And this prominence is no accident, coming instead as the result of hard work and planning over decades.

One of the people responsible for Brazil’s meteoric rise to the top of world surfing is Luiz Campos “Pinga,” a 50-something coach from São Paulo. Not only has he trained half a dozen world champions over the last ten years, but he was the first coach to scout Ítalo Ferreira, spotting the then 13-year-old future Olympic champion during a promo competition in the northeastern city of Natal.

“I was out for the morning session with a friend, and we...