These Olympic Surfers Made Their Achievement Permanent With Tattoos

If you pay attention to the athletes at this summer’s Paris 2024 Olympics, you’ll notice that many have celebrated their Olympic qualification in a rather permanent manner: with tattoos. It’s commonly believed that this trend dates back to Canadian swimmer Victor Davis, who donned a Canadian maple leaf tattoo at the 1984 Games. Davis’ tattoo inspired Chris Jacobs, a freestyle swimmer from the U.S., to get the Olympic rings inked on his body after winning three medals at the 1988 Games. From there, the trend took off. Now many top athletes like Michael Phelps have joined the long list of Olympians with commemorative ink. 

And the Olympic surfers are no different. At least six of the surfers who’ve competed in the Games have made their participation permanent with various styles of tattoos. And surely there will soon be more from the crop of Paris 2024 Olympians. Here are the six surfers so far who’ve gotten Olympic ink.

Italo Ferreira 

Italo Ferreira’s name is forever etched in Olympic history. He took the men’s gold medal in surfing’s Olympic debut in Japan with an array of dazzling airs and rail work. Italo already had quite a few tattoos across his body, so it’s only fitting that he added the Olympic rings. He got the rings tattoo on the right side of his neck, which, according to his management team, symbolizes wearing the gold medal around his neck. 

Miguel Tudela

After representing Peru in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Miguel Tudela added some Olympic ink to his ribs.

“I got the tattoo because the Olympics were a dream of mine since I was a kid,” said Tudela. “After qualifying and making it to the Olympics, I decided to get the tattoo. It was one important thing in my life that I wanted to have forever.”

“I chose this design because it wasn’t the ordinary one,” Tudela added. “It feels like the rings are more with water so there is a lot of sweat, a lot of blood, and a lot of hard work to qualify. I chose that location because, before qualifying for the Olympics, I had an injury on my ribs and I almost missed the last qualification. So for me that injury made me go stronger into the qualifying and get the spot.”

Leon Glatzer

When the high-flying German/Costa Rica-raised Leon Glatzer qualified for the Olympics – even before he made it to Tokyo 2020, which was held in July of 2021 because of COVID – he made it permanent. Glatzer got the Olympic rings inked on his wrist back in June 2021.

Yolanda Hopkins

Of all the tattooed Olympians, Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins is the only one to qualify twice, and her tattoo was adjusted accordingly. Her tattoo contains the lettering for both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

“When I qualified and went back home, I already knew I wanted the tattoo with the rings,” said Hopkins. “My coach’s wife was talking with the tattoo artist and they decided how to do the rings. It has the Portuguese colors, green and red, in the last ring. Me, my coach, his wife, and my mom all got the tattoo.” 

“Once I qualified again, I decided to add to the tattoo to put the two places that I qualified,” added Hopkins. “I wanted to do it a bit differently, so we decided to put ‘Tokyo’ in Japanese characters with 2020 next to it and then write Paris 2024 below the rings. I left space on each side, so I can add a little bit more if I ever qualify again. I put it on my forearm so I can actually look at it. My tattoos are for me, not anyone else, so I like to be able to see them.” 

Manuel Selman

Chile’s Manuel Selman inked the Olympic rings on his forearm after his Tokyo 2020 qualification. 

“Getting the rings tattooed is a tradition among athletes in honor of competing and representing your country on the world stage and being an Olympian is just like a tattoo, it’s for life!” said Selman. “I wanted something different, not just the rings like most athletes get. I wanted something thoughtful and original that tributes not only the Olympics, but also the country, so after much thought I designed my own tattoo. It’s a circle that represents the “circle of the sun” on the Japanese flag and it’s made of a Japanese pattern for waves, while the rings are made out of dots. From all the Olympic tattoos I’ve seen I feel like mine is pretty original, which is what I was looking for. And for location, I chose my right forearm. I already had another one on my left arm. I definitely wanted it somewhere I can see it everyday.”

Dominica Barona

Dominic Barona, who represented Ecuador at Tokyo 2020, decided to get the Olympic rings tattooed on her wrist. 

“I chose to get the tattoo (it was my first tattoo) because it represented one of my biggest achievements,” said Barona. “I made it to my dreams – the Olympics. There were years of sacrifice and since I was little I followed the Olympics. I think it’s the biggest achievement that any athlete can obtain in their career. I chose the Olympic rings and inside of them I put the colors of my country’s flag, yellow, blue, and red.”

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