<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Performance levels were pushed, new records were set and history was made on a phenomenal day of surfing that saw fourteen World Champions crowned in Surf City USA to close competition at the 2023 ISA World Para Surfing Championship (WSPC).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">France claimed their first WPSC team gold medal, to join with their team wins across all other current ISA competitions. USA took the silver medal, Brazil, bronze. England won copper, their first ever ISA team medal, largely thanks to <strong>Charlotte Banfield</strong>’s victory in Women’s Stand 3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It’s really, really exciting,” Banfield said. “I think the team we’ve got this year is the strongest we’ve ever had, and not only is it a strong team, it’s a supportive team.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three multiple World Champions added to their medal counts. <strong>Davi Teixeira</strong> (BRA) and <strong>Marta Paço</strong> (POR) each earned their third gold medal, while<strong> Victoria Feige</strong> (CAN) further extended her own record, collecting her fifth. This year however, para surfing’s winningest woman faced her strongest competition yet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Seeing the level rise, it’s so sweet to have a victory, but seeing the movement rise is probably the best part,” Feige said. “It’s also so empowering, because I feel like I’m not alone, there’s other girls in the world with disabilities like mine who’ve got that fire to really push the level.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">New World Champions were crowned in six divisions. <strong>Aaron Paulk</strong> (HAW), <strong>Kirk Watson</strong> (AUS) and <strong>Sarah Almagro</strong> (ESP) each won their first gold medals after multiple previous finals, <strong>Laurie Phipps</strong> (FRA) claimed gold in her second, and <strong>Nagisa Ikegami </strong>(JPN) and<strong> Joel Taylor</strong> (AUS) topped the podium in their very first event.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“[This has been] the best experience of my life,” Taylor said. “I’ve waited for 30 years. I’ve dreamed of being a World Champion from when Eppo (Michael Eppelstun) won the first world title for Australia in bodyboarding. I worked a long time as a bodyboarder and then I had my injury and then over 20 years out of the water and 12 months later, as a para surfer, it’s mind-blowing.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Alelí Medina</strong> (PUR),<strong> Rafael Lueders</strong> (BRA) and <strong>Llywelyn ‘Sponge Williams</strong> (WAL) each backed up their inaugural victories in 2022. After winning her first gold medal in the assisted Prone 2 classification in 2022, <strong>Emma Dieters</strong> (AUS) collected her second in her new classification, the unassisted Prone 1. 2020 Stand 2 gold medalist <strong>Roberto Pino</strong> (BRA) earned his first gold medal in the Stand 1 classification.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Norway’s<strong> Ismael Guilliorit</strong> returned to competition after six years away to make his first Final and win his nation their first ever ISA medal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“For the Norwegian people, I opened the door,” Guilliorit said. “So now they can believe that we are able to take some good waves at the competition.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>ISA President Fernando Aguerre</strong> said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Many years ago, when we started with the first Para Surfing World Championship, it was an act of faith, an act of hope, thinking that this could become the beginning of a new era for surfing, an era in which we open our arms and our competitions to all surfers, regardless of their physical abilities, and it has been wonderful. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“What a week Huntington Beach has served for us, incredible, unforgettable. Of course in the back of all our minds is the hope, it might happen, that the LA 2028 Paralympic Games will finally include Para Surfing.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>RESULTS</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Team</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - France</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - USA</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Brazil</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - England</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Vision Impairment 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Aaron Paulk (HAW)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Roy Calderon (CRC)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Pierrot Gagliano (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Jack Jackson (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Vision Impairment 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Aleli Medina (PUR)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Melissa Reid (ENG)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Lou Mechiche (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Ling Pai (CAN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Vision Impairment 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Kirk Watson (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Thomas Da Silva (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Elias Ricardo Diel (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Ben Neumann (GER)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Vision Impairment 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Marta Paço (POR)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Valentine Moskoteoc (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Carmen Lopez (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Juliette Mas (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Prone 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Davi Teixeira (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Jose Martinez (USA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Tomoki Fujiwara (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Ander Goenaga (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Prone 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Sarah Almagro (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Jocelyn Neumueller (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Celine Roulliard (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Ann Yoshida (HAW)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Prone 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Joel Taylor (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Christian ‘Otter’ Bailey (USA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Casey Proud (HAW)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Kai Colless (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Prone 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Emma Dieters (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Kayla Woputz (HAW)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Tracy McKay (RSA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Paloma Onate (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Kneel</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Llywelyn ‘Sponge Williams (WAL)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Ibon Oregi (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Reddog Wheatley (AUS)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Henrique Saraiva (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Kneel</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Victoria Feige (CAN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Vera Quaresma (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Audrey Pascual (ESP)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Emmanuelle Blanchet (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Stand 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Rafael Lueders (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Ismaël Guilliorit (NOR)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Jean Paul Veaudry (RSA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Kenjiro Ito (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Stand 2</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Laurie Phipps (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Zoe Smith (ENG)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Malu Mendes (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Kirsty Taylor (WAL)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men’s Stand 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Roberto Pino (BRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Shingo Kato (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Camilo Abdula (POR)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Maxime Clarkin (FRA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women’s Stand 1</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gold - Nagisa Ikegami (JPN)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver - Liv Stone (USA)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bronze - Catalina Castro (CHI)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Copper - Chikako Takao (JPN)</div>