The 2024 International Surfing Association’s (ISA) World Surfing Games in Arecibo on Puerto Rico’s northern coast was the final qualifying event for surfing, with the top three surfers placing in the 12^th repechage becoming the last to earn a spot in the Paris Olympics.

However, because some of the participating surfers had already won a spot in previous Olympics qualifiers, the remaining four tickets were awarded to surfers who advanced to the 10^th elimination round.

Rio secured his ticket to Paris by placing second in that round with 10.93 points, but continued to compete in the 11^th repechage as well.

“It was so amazing and beautiful. That’s the reason why I came to this competition,” Rio said in a statement issued by Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), as quoted by Kompas.com, on Sunday.

“The last time I qualified for Tokyo [in 2020], it was extraordinary, so I wanted to do it again.”

Rio also said in a separate interview with the ISA that he did everything he could to qualify. The 24-year-old finally qualified for Paris after two near misses in the United States and a poor showing last year in El Salvador.

“I was nervous coming to this event, but during the off season last year I worked hard,” he told the ISA.

“The last 10 days I just let it happen; just enjoy it and just surf, that’s it.”

Head coach of Indonesia’s national surfing team, Arya Subyakto, said Rio’s achievement was promising.

"This is a great achievement considering Rio has made it twice to the Olympics, previously in Tokyo and now in Paris. It was also in Tokyo that surfing was contested for the first time at the Olympics,” Arya said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.

With Rio representing Indonesia in surfing, the country will be sending seven athletes to the Olympics this year.

Arya said this was proof that surfing ought to be given more attention and expressed the hope that this achievement would encourage other Indonesian athletes to compete.

The country had initially sent three other surfers to take part in the Puerto Rico qualifiers, I Ketut Agus Aditya Putra, Dhany Widianto and Jasmine Michelle Studder, but they stumbled in the early rounds.

Rio himself broke through in the elimination round after being dropped from the main round.

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