SALLY HO
FILE - In this July 27, 2021, file photo, Carissa Moore, of the United States, competes during the gold medal heat in the women's surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. The first Olympic gold medalist for surfing, Moore, is the only Native Hawaiian surfer at the Games. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Native Hawaiians 'reclaim' surfing with Moore's Olympic gold

By Sally Ho Aug. 05, 2021 11:47 AM EDT
Carissa Moore wore a white and yellow plumeria pinned next to her ear for her

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2021, file photo, Gianmarco Tamberi, of Italy, embraces fellow gold medalist Mutaz Barshim, of Qatar, after the final of the men's high jump at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In an extraordinary Olympic Games where mental health has been front and center, acts of kindness are everywhere. The world’s most competitive athletes have been captured showing gentleness and warmth to one another — celebrating, pep-talking, wiping away each another’s tears of disappointment. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
At an extraordinary Olympics, acts of kindness abound

By Sally Ho Aug. 02, 2021 02:22 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — A surfer jumping in to translate for the rival who’d just beaten

People watch from behind a security fence during the final day of the surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. The Olympic beach party that never was may be the only sore spot for surfing’s long-awaited debut that finished triumphantly this week. Some local Japanese fans and beachgoers did manage to find a way to lay eyes on the athletes and the competition site once the games began. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
COVID cancels the Olympic surfing beach party that never was

By Sally Ho Jul. 28, 2021 06:01 AM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — The Olympic beach party that never was may be the only

Carissa Moore, of the United States, preforms on the wave during the gold medal heat in the women's surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Seasoned superstars win gold in surfing's Olympic debut

By Sally Ho Jul. 27, 2021 06:55 AM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — After a series of underdogs stole the show at the

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 15, 2021 file photo, Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais practices for a World Surf League competition at Surf Ranch, in Lemoore, Calif. Portugal's Olympic team says that surfer Frederico Morais will miss the Games after having tested positive for the coronavirus despite being vaccinated. The team says that Morais won’t travel to Tokyo on Friday, July 23, 2021 as planned. The 29-year-old Morais qualified for the Games after finishing as the top-ranked European surfer at the 2019 World Surfing Games held in Japan. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
Alternate Olympic surfer: Rival 'selfish' for COVID report

By Sally Ho Jul. 26, 2021 09:29 PM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — An aggrieved Olympic surfing alternate forced into a

Surf's up: Favorites lose as pending storm stirs waves

By Sally Ho Jul. 26, 2021 06:25 AM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — As a brewing storm stirred up the waves Monday during

John John Florence, of the United States, and Australia's Owen Wright walk to the water prior to the men's surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (Olivier Morin/Pool Photo via AP)
Nerves, joy, and modest waves at surfing's Olympic debut

By Sally Ho Jul. 25, 2021 03:54 AM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — It was surf’s up Sunday for the sport’s century-in-the

France's Jeremy Flores rides a wave during a training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Surfing science: Dependent on weather, defined by the ocean

By Sally Ho Jul. 24, 2021 05:31 AM EDT
ICHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) — Olympic surfing’s debut is making clear that these

This photo shows a general view of the surfing venue at the 2020 Summer Olympics at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan, Friday, July 23, 2021. (Olivier Morin/Pool Photo via AP)
Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais tests positive for COVID

By Sally Ho Jul. 23, 2021 08:57 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais has announced that he tested

Surfer Anat Lelior, of Israel, rides a wave during a practice session at Tsurigasaki beach at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Ichinomiya, Japan, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
EXPLAINER: Surfing, where the playing field is never level

By Sally Ho Jul. 21, 2021 10:25 PM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Surfing is as much skill and science as instinct and timing. That

Surfer Johanne Defay, of France, works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. Defay is headed to the Olympics for surfing's debut at the Games, buoyed by an upset win against reigning world champion Carissa Moore, 28, at the high-intensity Surf Ranch competition last month. Though there's much excitement and renewed enthusiasm for the women's game, the objectification, pay disparities and opportunity gap have taken its toll. Industry leaders say they're committed to righting the wrongs that have long held female surfers back in the male-dominated sport. The mental, financial and logistical roadblocks for women in surfing date back centuries. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
Female surfers overcome sexism's toll to earn Olympic berth

By Sally Ho Jul. 19, 2021 12:03 PM EDT
LEMOORE, CALIF. (AP) — Johanne Defay of France was devastated when the mega

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil comes out of the water after working out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Olympic surfing: Can the exclusive sport become accessible?

By Sally Ho Jul. 15, 2021 12:14 PM EDT
LEMOORE, Calif. (AP) — Italo Ferreira grew up without much in a small town with

FILE - In this July 12, 1961, file photo, members of the North Bay surfing club upload their surf boards from a station wagon at Malibu Beach, Calif. For some Native Hawaiians, surfing's Olympic debut is both a celebration of a cultural touchstone invented by their ancestors, and an extension of the racial indignities seared into the history of the game and their homeland. The Summer Games in Tokyo, which kick off this month, serve as a proxy for that unresolved tension and resentment, according to the Native Hawaiians who lament that surfing and their identity have been culturally appropriated by white outsiders who now stand to benefit the most from the $10 billion industry. (AP Photo/File)
Olympic surfing exposes whitewashed Native Hawaiian roots

By Sally Ho Jul. 13, 2021 12:36 PM EDT
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — For some Native Hawaiians, surfing’s Olympic debut is

FILE - In this Thursday, July 18, 2019, file photo, a surfer competes during a test event at Tsurigasaki beach, a venue for surfing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in Ichinomiya, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. The International Surfing Association has been lobbying the International Olympic Committee since 1995, though the effort to include the sport dates back to the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, FIle)
A century later, a lot riding on surfing's Olympic debut

By Sally Ho Jun. 30, 2021 02:50 PM EDT
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Surfing has a lot riding on its Olympic debut: a