Italo Ferreira led Brazil to a historic victory at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games, held in Kisakihama Beach, Japan.
The Championship Tour (CT) surfer nearly missed his first heat of the event after getting his passport stolen only days before leaving for Japan.
As a result, and as soon as he got his document, he flew to the venue, and made it to his heat with only eight minutes remaining.
Luckily or maybe not, he took first place and then and the podium's top spot in the competition.
In a highly disputed final, Ferreira earned a Perfect 10 from the judges and eventually defeated Kolohe Andino, Gabriel Medina, and Shun Murakami.
"I just want to say congratulation to everyone. It was a super cool contest. I am extremely tired. There were a lot of heats and emotional moments," said Ferreira.
En Route to Tokyo 2020
The last time Brazil won gold medals at the ISA World Surfing Games was in 2000 when Fabio Silva and Tita Tavares won both the men's and women's divisions.
But the South American nation has more reasons to smile - Medina secured a bronze medal, and Silvana Lima won silver.
With the conclusion of the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games, Frederico Morais (Portugal), Billy Stairmand (New Zealand), Ramzi Boukhiam (Morocco) and Shun Murakami (Japan) earned provisional qualification slots for Tokyo 2020.
Bianca Buitendag (South Africa), Shino Matsuda (Japan), Ella Williams (New Zealand) and Anat Lelior (Israel) have also secured provisional tickets for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
2019 ISA World Surfing Games | Results
Men
1. Italo Ferreira (BRA)
2. Kolohe Andino (USA)
3. Gabriel Medina (BRA)
4. Shun Murakami (JPN)
Women
1. Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
2. Silvana Lima (BRA)
3. Bianca Buitendag (RSA)
4. Carissa Moore (USA)
Teams
1. Brazil
2. USA
3. Japan
4. Peru