15-year-old Okinawan Shuri Araki wins third place overall at international standup paddle board competition, marking a breakout performance for the young competitor
Shuri Araki riding the rough waves in the sprint competition – November 7, North Carolina (Photograph provided by his father, Takuji)
November 12, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Hideki Matsudo
Nago – The Carolina Cup, part of the Association of Paddlesurf Professionals (APP) 2021 world tour, took place November 6 and 7 in North Carolina. At the competition, 15-year-old Shuri Araki, a ninth-grader at Ryokufu Gakuen in Nago, ended the competition ranked third overall, the youngest ever to do so. The event features races and technical competitions in standup paddleboarding (SUP). Only the top 35 athletes in the sport gain entry to the world tour, and Araki is the youngest ever to secure a spot.
Stormy weather had put the event at risk at one point, but changes were made to the courses to allow the event to take place. Araki placed 4th in the 15 km long-distance race that took place on the first day, and 6th in the 500-meter surf sprint event, where surfers compete for speed
Shuri Araki
riding waves, for an overall finish in 3rd place.
SUP is a competition where surfers stand on their boards, and Shuri has already won the world championship in the junior division and finished 3rd in the men’s open division. His father Takuji, 47, said looking ahead to the future, “Shuri will be 22 when the Los Angeles Summer Olympics comes (in 2028). If [SUP] is added as an official event of the games, I think he can certainly secure the gold medal.”
Since Araki was a preschooler, Araki would follow his fisherman grandfather Akinobu Tamaki, 81, into the ocean near his home in Abu, Nago, enjoying ocean activities such as net fishing. After graduating elementary school, he started learning SUP from his father Takuji, who also competed in the SUP World Cup, and very quickly gaining ability.
Shuri said enthusiastically, “The waves in Okinawa and here in North Carolina are quite different so this was a challenge, but my ability to conquer the stormy seas in this competition is a result of training in the Yanbaru wilderness. I can’t wait to get back to Okinawa and tell everyone.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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