Alonso Correa: The boy who loved the sea because it was "dangerous" seeks his first Olympic medal
Alonso Correa vividly remembers how it all began.
He was nine years old and fearless. "I like to go surfing because you are in the water and it's quite dangerous," he told to El Comercio in one of his first interviews.
Fast forward 17 years, and the Peruvian is one of four semi-finalists in the men's surfing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
He tried soccer and skateboarding but finally found his passion in surfing, which has taken him to the big waves of Teahupo'o. In this environment he not only needed to be fearless, but he embraced the Tahitian connection between ocean, land, waves, board and himself.
He's overcome some great rivals on his way to the semis and is one step away from standing on an Olympic podium.
"I'm happy to be there on this beach, to show everything I can do in the water. To show the level, the Peruvian grit. It's incredible to be in these Olympic Games," Correa told Olympics.com.
Discover the history and achievements of this Peruvian surfer, who proved predictions wrong to qualify for the semi-finals at Paris 2024 and feature among the stars of the sport.
Alonso Correa in Paris 2024: Passion for surfing, inherited from his father
Correa was born in Lima, on 3 January 1998, into a sports-mad family. His first passion, at the age of six, was soccer playing striker in matches with his friends in his neighbourhood.
However, every time he went to the beach with his family for a vacation, little Correa would watch his father Augusto take a surfboard and get into the water to "talk" to the ocean.
His father put him on a surfboard for the first time in his life when he was seven years old. That moment changed Correa's destiny forever. He would embark on an intimate relationship with the sea and the waves that would also lead to a professional sports career. Correa thrives off the mix of competitiveness and the peace of spending time in nature.
"My father taught me and my brother to surf. He pushed me to follow this path. And I loved it from the first time I competed," he told El Bocón in an interview.
Alonso Correa: First medal at the World Youth Championships
He won his first major competition at nine years of age clinching the Under-10 Peruvian National Surfing Championship. He gave his first interview to El Comercio, titled "The boy and the sea".
At 12, he was already competing against 16-year-olds and finished third at the National Under-16 Championship in 2000.
Correa's first major international achievement came at the 2006 ISA Junior World Championship in Portugal where he won the silver medal.
Since then, he's featured among the world's surfing elite. While he has not reached finals or won major titles yet, Correa always has the clarity in his mind that surfing is not exclusively about competing.
"Surfing, in my life, is more than something professional. It's something I also do to relax. Whenever I need it, it's there. I love being in the ocean and I will always do this," he added.
After a knee injury and surgery that took him almost a year and a half to recover from, he was able to return to competition. At the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games (WSG) earlier this year in Puerto Rico, he finished fifth.
At the 2023 edition of the ISA WSG in La Bocana and El Sunzal in El Salvador, he was a member of the Peruvian squad that won team gold. The Peruvian delegation included Lucca Mesinas and Sol Aguirre, who also competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Alonso Correa: One month earlier, on the beaches of Teahupo'o
The Peruvian surfer was adamant that he had to get to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the best possible shape. He spent a month before the Olympic surfing competition in Tahiti to test the waves of Teahupo'o.
He learned about the full strength of the waves and how to avoid the large reef, which poses a real danger given how shallow it is.
"I was with my brother in the waves and we were analysing the waves a lot. Knowing when to speed up and when to slow down. If you accelerate too much, you'll get out of the tube earlier than you could and that will make you lose points," the Peruvian analysed in detail in an interview with Duke Surf.
Correa took 12 boards on this trip, knowing that the nature of the wave would mean he would likely break some. In fact, during his first training session in Teahupo'o, one of the boards broke.
Another key point in Correa's evolution and the great competition he's had at Paris 2024 was the mental side. "I have worked a lot on that aspect. Even breathing. It is very important. You have to be well-oxygenated, with a calm mind and very determined."
Alonso Correa's journey to the Paris 2024 semi-finals
Correa's debut at Paris 2024 started in style as he won his Round-1 heat in a group with two-time world champion Filipe Toledo and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kanoa Igarashi of Japan.
In the round of 16, he beat surfing legend Jordy Smith (South Africa), 2006 ISA World Surfing Games champion.
In the quarter-finals, he defeated Inaba Reo of Japan. Now he will compete against Frenchman Kauli Vaast to secure an Olympic medal.
Surfing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Results and schedule of Alonso Correa
Round 1
Heat 3
- Alonso Correa (PER) - 14.33
- Filipe Toledo (BRA) - 7.63
- Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) - 4.17
Round 3
Serie 1
- Alonso Correa (PER) - 15.00
- Jordy Smith (RSA) - 12.20
Quarter-finals
- Alonso Correa (PER) - 10.50
- Inaba Reo (JPN) - 10.16
Semi-finals
Sunday, August 4th
- 07:00 (Time in Tahiti, 12:00 PM in Lima, Peru) - Alonso Correa (PER) vs. Kauli Vaast (FRA)