2022 ISA World Surfing Games: Day 4 results, highlights, and livestream from the Olympic qualifier event

Superheats were the theme of day four at the 2022 ISA World Surfing Games.

A stunning sunrise on Tuesday 20 September set the stage for a glassy morning of beautiful surfing at Huntington Beach, California.

It was an entertaining day from the get-go with surfers going to the air heat after heat.

The high calibre of surfing only proves how hungry the surfers are to try to clinch the two Paris 2024 quota spots that are up for grabs for the two winning men's and women's national teams.

While it's impossible to accurately predict which countries will take home the first ticket to the next Summer Olympic Games, France, Japan, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Germany, USA and Spain have been standout performers.

Continue reading for a re-cap of the competition on day four and don't forget to tune in to Olympics.com, to catch the action live.

Moment of the day: Brazilian family affair

Miguel and Samuel Pupo have been firing so far in this competition.

On Tuesday they both stepped up their performances a notch.

In their first heats of the day (round 3) 21-year-old Samuel came second (14.86). Straight after older brother Miguel caught everyone's attention after he also flew into the air with class, and control.

Their brotherly love was tested in the last heat of the day as the pair went up against each other and Panama's Jean Carlos Gonzalez.

The lead flip-flopped several times in the heat but ultimately it was Miguel's win for the taking after stomping two massive manoeuvres in the final 30 seconds of the heat to earn a 13.47 score. His younger brother took second with a combined heat score of 12.50.

Caught our eye: Raining aerials

A cameraman was overheard saying today, "You can really tell the standard is going up throughout the competition because today aerials are coming as if they are free."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

There's no way we can recall how many times we saw surfers taking off from the lip of the wave and sending themselves to the air before landing with conviction.

Shout-outs must be made for Kolohe Andino (USA), Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Cherif Fall (SEN), the Pupo brothers (BRA), Jadson Andre (BRA) and Mihimana Braye (FRA).

As it happened: Day four at 2022 ISA World Surfing Games

Along with the above aerial stars, Frederico Morais (POR), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) and Santiago Muniz (ARG) put on a show in Huntington Beach. 

After having little wind in the morning, it swung and made the waves a bit choppier. But that didn't stop the women in the main draw from performing.

Japan's Matsuda Shino was the women's stand-out earning both the highest single wave score (8.50) and the highest combined two-wave score (16.27).

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) did what she does best while Gabriela Bryan (USA) is continuing to let rip.

Korea's Lee Nala and Australia's India Robinson also gave their teammates on the beach something to get loud for.

Forecast: Day five action and weather

Wednesday is a repechage-only day, with everyone needing to deliver to keep their future in the competition alive.

If athletes lose in the repechage heats they are eliminated.

For the men look out for Griffin Colapinto (USA), Murakami Shun (JPN), plus another match-up between Rio Waida (INA) and 15-year-old Eeli Timperi who got the better of Waida earlier in the event.

And in the women, keep an eye on Erin Brooks (CAN), Lucia Machado (ESP) and Matsuda Shino (JPN).

The competition starts at 7:30 PDT and you can watch it live on Olympics.com here.

The day will start with light onshore winds that will build in the afternoon which is consistent with what we've experienced so far in this event. The 4-5ft swell will not have a peak as defined as Tuesday but there should still be decent waves on offer.