American surfer Griffin Colapinto, 25, began surfing at the age of three. He will be competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Griffin Colapinto’s Early Years with His Family
Griffin Colapinto was born on July 29, 1998 in Mission Viejo, California, and raised in the surf town of San Clemente, Griffin Colapinto took to the waves at an early age thanks to his family ties and coastal upbringing.
Colapinto was introduced to surfing by the age of 3 by his father Mitch, a schoolteacher who taught both Griffin and his younger brother Crosby, a former competitive surfer. His mother Camille Colapinto works in Facial Aesthetics Concepts and is a Clinical Educator. With his family’s support, Griffin quickly took to surfing.
He graduated from San Clemente High School. Outside of surfing, the now 25-year-old, 5’11, 74 kg Colapinto enjoys activities like golfing and watching surf videos with friends in his spare time.
He also has attached to childhood memories with his family that still make him smile. As Colapinto shared in an interview, he used to regularly visit his grandparents’ house with his cousins. His elder cousin would gather everyone to play games, often spooky ones in the garage involving terrifying tales in the dark.
Looking back now, one of Colapinto’s most funny childhood moments was when the scary stories would cause him to pee his pants out of fear when the lights went out. Though embarrassing then, it’s a funny memory as an adult Olympian.
Griffin Colapinto selected his first-ever Olympic Game
The International Surfing Association (ISA) confirmed on July 19th that two more top athletes will compete for gold when surfing makes its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games.
The 25-year-old American surfer Griffin Colapinto secured his first-ever Olympic selection. At the J-Bay Open in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, Colapinto will likely enter the Paris 2024 event as the #1 ranked surfer in the world at the time of the Games.
Joining Colapinto in the Olympic field is Italian surfer Leonardo Fioravanti, who previously finished 9th at the sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo 2021. The 24-year-old will look to improve on that finish with his second Olympic experience in Paris.
Griffin’s words for his upcoming competitions
As the first American surfer to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Griffin Colapinto is interested for the challenge ahead. In a recent interview, he opened up about his mindset leading up to surfing’s first Olympic debut.
“I know, it’s a lot, right?” “I’m still taking it all in, I’m still kinda trippin’, thinking about going to the Olympics, being on the Olympic team, and all the great things that have happened this season. The most important thing is I am learning every time out there, I take nothing for granted, and I am grateful for all of these experiences.”
“Getting to the Olympics is like the biggest thing ever for my family, especially my grandparents. They are all so excited about it. They were crying, they were so happy.”
Griffin says
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In an interview with Olympics.com, Colapinto revealed some of the secrets behind his rise to the top, including maintaining a “rebel spirit” and carefully studying the Olympic competition venue, Teahupo’o in Tahiti.
“I want to be relatable to other people, and that’s kind of how I look at it.”
Griffin Colapinto to Olympics.com
Griffin Colapinto Surfing Career So far
His Early Career
While Griffin Colapinto took his first ride on a board at age 3, he didn’t immediately fall in love with surfing. He played other sports like soccer and baseball as a young kid until being drawn into surfing by his brother Crosby’s passion.
By age 13 in 2011, Colapinto began competing on the junior tour. Just two years later in 2013, he announced himself by winning the US Open of Surfing Junior event.
In 2016, Colapinto captured onto the surf scene by landing an incredible last-minute air reverse in a crowded Qualifying Series heat in Hawaii. Video of the wave went viral, showcasing his aggression, progression and well-rounded skill. Jake Paterson,a former tour star, gave Colapinto the nickname “Sponge”.
Colapinto became the first surfer from California to win the vaunted Vans Triple Crown and made his name in surf history in 2017.
Professional Career
After earning qualification, Griffin Colapinto reached new heights competing with surfing’s best on the elite Championship Tour (CT) starting in 2018. In his very first CT event at the 2018 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coas, Griffin completed an epic triple barrel ride en route to a 3rd place finish. Colapinto improved from 18th in 2018 to 16th in 2019 gaining valuable experience.
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Colapinto, who finally made the top 10 in the rankings for the first time while also winning the prestigious US Open event on the stepping-stone Challenger Series in the 2021 season. He also won the 2021 US Open of Surfing in the WSL Challenger Series.
Colapinto claimed the first two Championship Tour event wins of his career in 2022 at the MEO Pro Portugal and Surf City El Salvador Pro. The victory raised him to 7th in the world rankings.
Griffin Colapinto Word Championships
He had already hold the 3 Championship Tour victories in his young career, Colapinto qualified at the 2023 Rip Curl World Surf League Finals which was in his hometown surf break at the Lower Trestles in San Clemente. During the season, he won the Surf Ranch Pro, also finished runner-up at three events – the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, Margaret River Pro, and Surf City El Salvador Pro.
By qualifying 2nd for the WSL Finals, Colapinto sits in prime position to capture the world crown. As a local Californian, he also shoulders the weight of history – no Californian male has won the title since Tom Currenin 1990.
In May the 25-year-old Colapinto won his third career Championship Tour event. He was the first U.S. surfer to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and has pending confirmation on the final day of the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
