16-Year-Old Surf Prodigy Erin Brooks Wins Brazil Event Amid Team Canada Olympic Controversy
On Saturday, 16-year-old surf phenom Erin Brooks won the final stop on the 2023 World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series, the Corona Saquarema Pro.
The event was held at Praia de Itaúna, Saquarema, outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Brooks knocked out Australia’s Sophie McCulloch in the finals 13.67 to 7.50.
It was a big win; however, it came amidst a scandal for Brooks as she’s fighting to represent Canada in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. And it’s not looking good.
Recently, Brooks was denied her bid for Canadian citizenship.
In a letter explaining its decision not to grant citizenship, (via Yahoo) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada says Brooks is "not stateless, will not face special and unusual hardship if you are not granted Canadian citizenship and that you have not provided services of an exceptional value to Canada."
Brooks was born in Texas, grew up in Hawaii, and has Canadian ties via her father who is a dual American-Canadian citizen. And, for her best chances to make the Olympics (only two slots go to each country, per gender), the Canada route seemed like the best option.
And prior to this announcement from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, Brooks had surfed under the Canadian flag at the International Surfing Games, despite not being an actual citizen, her team was stripped of their medals, and she was banned from Team Canada.
As for the win in Brazil, here’s what Brooks had to say:
“I’m speechless. The heat started off not too well for me. But God sent me some amazing waves and helped me ride out on my last turn. Sophie is such a great competitor, so well done to her as well. I’m so glad that I requalified for next year. It will give me time to work on my surfing. Hopefully next year I can bring some of my airs to the heats. We’ll see what happens.”
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