Rio Waida Pursues Ticket For 2028 Olympics After Ran Aground In Paris

JAKARTA Indonesian surf athlete, Rio Waida, will try to get a ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after stopping Paris 2024.

Rio's journey at the 2024 Paris Olympics stopped in the second half. He returned home after losing to competing with surfer Jordy Smith from South Africa.

"The next goal is Los Angeles, but I will discuss it with the people around me first," he said in a statement received from NOC Indonesia.

Rio started his journey in Paris by ranking third with a total record of 5.74 points in the first half. He is behind surfers Reo Inaba (Japan) and Leonardo Fioravanti (Italy).

The condition of the waves then did not support Rio in the second half. The big waves he was waiting for did not come, while Jordy took small waves which were the key to victory.

Rio said that the results he got at the 2024 Olympics were very painful. He was confused to explain the impression that is currently in his mind.

"I apologize to everyone. A lot of attention and energy have been given over the past three years for me to dream at the Olympics and ending up not as expected," he said.

He continued that this defeat would be an important lesson for him in the future. He said he would try even harder to get a chance to go to Los Angeles later.

"I will continue to work hard and move forward. I learned to keep working hard. This defeat will not be forgotten and will be well stored for me," said Rio.