On June 20, the world celebrates International Surfing Day

The countdown is on until the world's best surfers compete in the Olympics at Tsurigasaki Beach for the celebrated debut of Surfing in Tokyo. Located about 100 km from Tokyo, the event takes place near the city of Ichinomiya on the Pacific coast of Chiba Prefecture. As one of the easternmost points in Japan, the swell can come from the north, east or south depending on the season.

Twenty male and 20 female athletes compete in three rounds, with the three finals consisting of 30-minute heats. In round one, four athletes compete in each preliminary heat, and in round two there are five. Starting in round three, the competition moves to a one-on-one format. During the heats, each surfer has 30 minutes to catch as many waves as possible and receives a score from 0-10 for each wave surfed, though only each surfer's top two waves are included in the final standings.

Due to the nature of the sport, surfers are judged on slightly different criteria than other athletes. Waves are evaluated by a panel of experienced judges using a five-point system that includes commitment, difficulty, innovation and progression, variety, combination, speed, power and flow.

Kolohe Andino / USA
The multiple USA National Champion is one of the most followed and photographed surfers on the planet.

Michel Bourez / FRA
Michel Bourez is known in the surfing world as "The Spartan," and for good reason; his superior physique and surfing skills make him a warrior on the ocean. Bourez is a French-speaking Tahitian with the strongest frontside gouge on tour.

Leonardo Fioravanti / ITA
Leonardo Fioravanti started surfing at the age of four after being inspired by his brother Marco, who was a surfer on the Italian national team. But the Italian found his own way in the sport, beating Kelly Slater to make it to the full Championship Tour in 2019.

Kanoa Igarashi / JPN
Japanese surfer Kanoa Igarashi grew up in Huntington Beach, USA. At the age of 14, he became the youngest surfer ever to win the US National Championships for under-18s. His accomplishments earned him a spot on the World Tour. Kanoa is a force to be reckoned with, and Japan has his sights set on a spot on the podium in Tokyo.

Caroline Marks / USA
A multiple national champion and the youngest participant in a World Surf League event, American Caroline Marks is surfing's young phenomenon.

Carissa Moore / USA
Four-time world champion. Carissa was named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic, Woman of the Year by Glamour magazine and Best Surfer by SURFER magazine (several times). She was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame at the age of only 21, and the state of Hawaii declared January 4 as Carissa Moore Day. Carissa Moore is a powerhouse in the surfing world.

Jordy Smith / RSA
The powerful rule-footer from Durban is a regular winner on the World Surf League Championship Tour.

Julian Wilson / AUS
In 2015, Wilson gained international notoriety after heroically paddling to his competitor and close friend Mick Fanning while he was wrestling a great white shark in Jeffrey's Bay in South Africa. For his efforts, Julian was awarded the Spirit of Sport Award at the 2015 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Awards and Outstanding Bravery at the 2015 Pride of Australia Awards.

Adriano De Souza / BRA
When Kelly Slater first saw Adriano Elias de Souza from São Paulo surfing competitively, he said that one day he would surf against the boy on the World Tour. De Souza went on to win the World Championship Tour in 2015.

Taina Hinckel / BRA
The girl from Guarda do Embaú seems to be the new star of Brazilian women's surfing. In 2017, she won the qualification for the Brazilian leg of the World Tour in Rio de Janeiro to secure a spot in the main event.

Italo Ferreira / BRA
Ítalo Ferreira is a world champion surfer who hails from the northeast coast of Brazil and has his sights set on more big contest wins. In 2019, Ítalo started by winning the first tour stop of the year on Australia's Gold Coast. Later, he also won the first Red Bull Airborne event. The wins continued to pile up in Peniche (Portugal) and a final in Jeffreys Bay (South Africa) and Hossegor (France). The last event of the year was the legendary Pipe Masters, where Ítalo crowned himself World Champion.

Mathea Olin / CAN
The 18-year-old Canadian is a rising star in the world of surfing and stands out from the crowd as she makes it look all too easy. At the 2019 Pan American Games, Olin secured a bronze medal in the longboard competition, a discipline that is not her main focus. This achievement was especially important as it makes her the only Canadian to ever win a medal in surfing.