"Sarah Wakita"
She's the daughter of the renowned surf pro, Takayuki Wakita, and grew up in Hawaii, so she's fluent in English. She watched Coco Ho closely as a child, and her style is similar to Coco's, a fact WSL commentators frequently mention. Currently ranked 7th in the world on the QS, she was the top competitor and a favorite to win, but the heat took place during the worst time of the day due to strong winds on the low tide. Nishii was unlucky, losing to a weaker competitor who caught a good wave, and was eliminated in the semifinals, finishing in 5th place. After her heat, Nishii spoke with her father, who seemed very disappointed, but said she's still in the early stages of the competition and will practice from now on to ensure she never repeats that defeat. Sarah is looking forward to ordering a board at Mayhem's Japan event on May 17th and 18th.
The final of the WSL Ichinomiya Open is scheduled to end on Saturday the 4th.
On the 5th (Sunday), when the waves are forecast to be smaller, the Super Session and KIDS and GROM class contests will be held, and on the 6th (Monday), the final day of the Golden Week holidays, the All Japan Contest will be held, which will also serve as the Olympic qualifying tournament.
