A move no one saw coming!
You know Tatiana Weston-Webb as a phenomenal Kauaian regular foot and/or The Mother of Dragons. She is currently world number four thanks to a fearless approach to the tube and loose limb’d snaps. Oh she is a very fine surfer but guess what? She is dumping her Kauai/USA surf nationality and swapping teams, headed for Brazil instead.
It’s true! And let’s read a dollop of press release first.
Today I’m excited to announce that, moving forward, I will be representing Brasil on both the WSL Championship Tour as well as in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. This is a major decision for me and one that I’m really excited about.
Most folks aren’t aware that my Dad is originally from England and my Mom is originally from Brasil. Brasil where I was born, but I feel truly blessed to have been raised on beautiful Kauai – both the community and the waves played a huge role in shaping who I am as a surfer and as a person. I am very grateful for that.
However, Brasil has always been an important part of who I am and, recently, I was approached by the Brasilian Olympic Committee with an opportunity to represent the country in a major way. It’s always been a dream of mine to compete in the Olympics and when surfing was announced as an official Olympic sport, I knew that my dream had a chance of becoming a reality.
Brasil owns a huge part of my heart. I have family, friends and a terrific amount of support there. It’s a place that has always felt like home and I am beyond proud to represent such an amazing country with so much passion and dedication for our sport. While this change gives me the opportunity to represent Brasil in 2020, all spots have to be earned and I’ll be trying my best to qualify as one of the few surfers able to represent their countries in the Olympics.
I consider myself very fortunate to enjoy fan support from Hawaii, Brasil and around the world. Thank you everyone for understanding, respecting, and supporting my decision.
First Kanoa Igarashi headed to Japan and now this. Before long, the United States will not have any professional surfers left, everyone surfing for their roots. Do you care about this nationalist juggling? Or not? I’m of two minds. I love that, theoretically, racist soccer hooligans can now riot for eugenic pride at surf events but also… I don’t know… country of origin or residence or birth seems like a not important part of the overall professional surf experience.
Tatiana dates Jesse Mendes, anyhow, and he is Brazilian. Do you think this factored into her decision?
If you could surf for any nation on earth which would you choose?
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
It’s about $$$ more than the Olympics. TWW said she felt “alone” in past years on tour. She clearly never really had a connected kinship with the other Hawaiian surfers… hell even the Kauai surfers like Malia and Seabass. She started dating Mendez and all of the sudden her connection to Brazil clearly got that much larger. It opened a massively larger door to market herself to that humongous demographic… especially in a country where their biggest female star right now is Silvana Lima… not super marketable (sorry Silvana). The Olympics was just the icing in the cake for her to make the jump.
Well it’s a good thing she didn’t join before the founders cup, otherwise Brazil would surely win, they will probably win anyways, but their women’s team looks like thei Achilles heel! Didn’t she always represent Hawaii, something that is can not do in the Olympics!
Swap teams? That’s hot, do I get to watch?
Beachgrittoland ditto
Can we get a word from the ’89 World Champ Martin Potter in his thoughts with all this country shifting? His contact details are: C/o “alongside” Master J. Turpel – @wsl. After all he invented this move.
Have you ever seen someone SO Brazilian looking?
Can’t work out if her eye colour hints at Master Race or Formerly known as Slave, but how’s this Baz.. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Cant hide the poo stance, even in a still.
Flaring barrel, though.
True dat !
can’t pretend to be surprised, she has a bit of Brazilian in her (probably quite often)
I thought Jackie Freestone was the Mother Of Dragons?!?!
Who fucken writes these press releases ?
Jeez, what a sugary, flowery pile of drivel designed to try and conceal the egotistical drive for fame.
Fukkn weird.
Betrayal lovingly enveloped in an eloquant rose dipped press release, is still betrayal.
God save the (Unless someone else can get me in the olympics) Queen!
ah, finally an explanation of why her booty game is so strong. at my age, i’m now curious about her momma
Momma is extremely broad, mate.
No need for the boys to use zoom.
you say that like its a bad thing…??
ummm – accomodating ?
Built for comfort not speed.
How’s that ? Better ?
wait – my first comment was only a joke, but then i got curious.
now, thanks to the power of the internet, we can see that you’re slandering the lady. moms is in shape!
taking a stand against fake news.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Well, that sure doesn’t look like the woman I saw !
If I’m wrong, then I humbly apologise to Mrs WW for being a prick.
No no no! It’s “If anybody was offended by my comments, I apologise”
I wanted to make it personal, you know just in case, one day we might …
aahhh, never mind
“astro”turfing lol
But is she Brazilian waxed? That is what I care about.
I’d choose to surf for Aztlán. Cool sounding and mystique of human sacrifice is bound to up my street cred.
I’d pick Jamaica. You can smoke a lot of dope and totally suck at your Olympic sport and the world will still finds you adorable. Your comic biopic DVD will coaster bongs in dorm rooms across the Western world.
I would choose Russia because I fancy vodka and caviar, sexy names like Galina and Natalya, but mainly because I’ve always wanted to see how well I’d surf with a bunch of banned performance enhancing substances ruthlessly pumped into my system.
you can take the boy out of Brazil, …
Ok BG, you e-fucked yourself. My pop up ad covered my Jordy crying popup, and I got stuck. I made it back but…
This is all going to be a prolonged jockey to align themselves with the team they think they have the best shot of making. Unlikely she makes the US team (just like Kanoa). Britain would have been the safe choice though.
Brazilian market is growing, Bethany took all the shine on Kauai
There’s a fucken good chance Britain won’t even make the surfing Olympics. Wouldn’t you look like a genius then.
But the uk has two new wave pools. That is now 3! A sure thing now, non? Aint no stinking third rate colonial pricks now are we.
Hang on. It is wavegarden. Strike the above.
You definitely are still stinking third rate colonial pricks. Just better at surfing.
I was under the impression, perhaps mistakenly that if you were on the CT and were one of the top two from your country you represent, you’re in. Is that not the case? ‘Cause if not, you’re right. Who would let them in?
And thanks for calling me a genius! Nick Carroll approved!
Ahhh not that simple. There are only 40 surfers in the Olympic format, 20 men and 20 women. 18 of the 40 will be CT seeds, the other 22 will be selected off WSL, ISA etc rankings. Three nations (the US, Brazil and Aust) will be allotted two boys and two girls each, Japan gets an auto-invite of one boy and one girl, and all the other ISA countries have to fight it out for a girl and boy invite depending on their ISA country ranking. That’s 13 countries aside from those mentioned above, basically.
Oh yeah everyone who wants to do the Olympics has to compete in the ISA Games to gain selection. Including the WSL seeds. Won’t they love going to France in July to get beaten by a 17 year old from Costa Rica or whatever.
Thanks for the clarification. England’s fucked. Good choice by Tati. No way she qualifies for the US but she’s got a good shot at Brazil.
Damn, Body Glove still exists?
somebody’s gotta make wetsuits for the short and squat
Carolines got a huge contract coming her way.
Is JOB still sponsored by No Glove, No Love?
Oi i already broke this story in previous comment section. I expect citation sir eg. (DrunkenAngel, 2018, np). X
I heard they offered her a Brazilian dollars.
Team Britain’s hopes dashed… not really…
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Seen him surf in person a few times. Fucking rips.
Sorry to be super critical, but I am pretty sure she’s a goofy foot
Yes , that certainly got a lame news story off to a rough start