Kelly Slater confirmed as first reserve for Team USA if Florence or Andino pull out of Olympics
International Surfing Association (ISA) names alternates to replace qualified surfers for Tokyo 2020 if unable to compete.
Surfing
The International Surfing Association (ISA) has announced the alternate athletes for surfing at Tokyo 2020.
11-time world champion Kelly Slater has been confirmed as the first reserve for Team USA.
The American surfing icon will be called up if either of USA's two qualified stars cannot attend the Games.
As previously reported on Olympics.com, two-time world champion John John Florence and Kolohe Andino are in a race against time to be fit for the Games having both recently undergone knee and ankle surgery, respectively.
It's understood both surfers are making good progress and should be ready to compete in Tokyo.
They've been keeping their fans updated via social media and also at times rehabilitating together in California.
Quota places for surfing in Tokyo are allocated by name and the reallocation process also requires substitutes meet certain criteria
Andino became the first U.S. surfer ever to qualify for the Olympics and ended the 2019 World Surf League (WSL) as the top-ranked American in the world rankings.
Slater finished behind Florence on the standings board, making him the next athlete in line for Team USA.
Brazil's Felipe Todelo will be the first called up to sub in for either two-time world champion Gabriel Medina or reigning champion Italo Ferreira if needed.
Meanwhile, Italy's Leonardo Fioravanti is also waiting on the wings as an alternate.
The quota reallocation process means he is a substitute for multiple surfers as the next highest-ranked surfer from the 2019 WSL rankings.
Fioravanti is an alternate for Jordy Smith of South Africa, who is also recovering from surgery, Kanoa Igarashi of Japan, as well as Jeremy Flores and Michel Bourez of France.
Women's alternates
In the women's competition, Lakey Peterson is the back-up for Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks of the USA, while Nikki Van Dijk is the alternate for Australia's Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons.
The deadline for communicating the final entries list of participants is 5 July.
See the full list of Tokyo 2020 surfing alternates here.