One of Canada’s strong medal hopefuls won’t get the chance to stand on the Olympic podium this summer.
Erin Brooks, 16, was eliminated from the ISA World Surfing Games on Wednesday in Puerto Rico when she finished third in her heat in the third round of repechage at the final Olympic qualifier. Only the top two in each heat advanced, with the top eight at the end of the competition earning Olympic berths.
Dom Domic, executive director of Surf Canada, confirmed in an e-mail to Sportsnet that Brooks’ Olympic hopes ended with this result.
The Olympic surfing event is set for July 27 to Aug. 4 in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Brooks was cleared to compete for Canada in Puerto Rico after winning a citizenship battle.
Brooks was born in Texas and grew up in Hawaii but has Canadian ties through her American-born father Jeff, who is a dual American-Canadian citizen, and her grandfather, who was born and raised in Montreal.
She turned heads by winning a silver medal at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador last June and gold at the ISA World Junior Championships in June 2022.
Her application for Canadian citizenship was initially rejected. But Immigration Minister Marc Miller had a change of heart after a December ruling by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice that it is unconstitutional for Canada to deny automatic citizenship to the children of foreign-born Canadians who grew up abroad.
The Brooks family then refiled their application under a hardship status, based on the recommendation of the Immigration Department, to accelerate the process.
Erin Brooks was sworn in as a Canadian citizen last month.
— with files from the Canadian Press
