Alan Cleland Carries Mexican Hopes on His Surfboard
Mexican surfer Alan Cleland Quiñonez makes history as first Olympic representative, finishing 2nd in Heat 6. Advances to Round 2, aiming for a podium finish in Tahiti.
![Alan Cleland Carries Mexican Hopes on His Surfboard](/content/images/size/w1200/2024/07/Alan-Cleland-took-second-place-1.jpg)
Mexican sport experienced a historic event this Saturday with the debut of the national surfing team, Alan Cleland Quiñonez, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a discipline that takes place in the waters of Teahupo'o, Tahiti.
The athlete, world champion in 2023, finished the initial round in second place in Heat 6 with a total of 14.34 points, where the American John Florence led the group with 17.33, while the Spaniard Andy Criere was third with 12.00 points.
Alan Cleland will compete in the second round this Sunday, July 28, as the surfer who won each series advanced directly to the third day, while the remaining two will continue consecutively.
The Mexican is part of the 48 surfers, 24 per category, from 21 nations competing for medals in French Polynesia, where an opening ceremony was previously held that gave way to the official competitions, after five days of training.
![](https://www.mexicanist.com/content/images/2024/07/Alan-Cleland-took-second-place-2.jpg)