<figure id="attachment_288132" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-288132" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4877e5e0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/456508d15d0bc84085f07cbadbef9c35.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-288132" class="wp-caption-text">Born in Chiba Prefecture in 2006. When asked about his love life, he says, &#8220;Right now, I&#8217;m in love with the sea.</figcaption></figure>
 My mother&#8217;s words changed my life as a competitor.
 There is a high school student who is leading a new wave in the surfing world. Watanabe Ikko, 16, won the All-Japan Classification Championships in July last year in the shortboard category, the largest ever held in Japan.
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 I started competing when I was 6 years old. After graduating from junior high school, I moved out of my parents&#8217; house and now live alone in a seaside town. As long as the waves are good, I practice four hours a day, even in the middle of winter.
 In July of last year, he also obtained his professional certification, which he had longed for. The turning point was a comment from his mother.
 I had failed the pro test in March before that. I was attracted by the cool jumps and started competing, but I failed at every single one of my attempts, so I wondered whether I should use a solid turn in the July exam, and for the first time in my life I consulted my mother. She told me, &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter if you make mistakes, just stick to what&#8217;s cool with you. I was blown away, and I did all of my air moves.
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 Her goal for the future is to compete on the world&#8217;s highest stage.
 I want to be an Olympic medalist like Kanoa Igarashi (25). I want to do it for sure!
 Will she be able to ride the big wave and capture her dream?
<figure id="attachment_288130" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-288130" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="78821e32"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/CC2C0133.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-288130" class="wp-caption-text"> Cuts not featured in this issue</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_288131" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-288131" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ed25d69d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/CC2C9805.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-288131" class="wp-caption-text"> Cuts that have not been published in this magazine</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_288133" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-288133" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5e41396c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/IMG_0249.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-288133" class="wp-caption-text"> Cuts that have not been published in this magazine</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_288134" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-288134" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7a748190"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/IMG_0272.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-288134" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished cuts from the magazine</figcaption></figure>
 From the January 20 and 27, 2023 issues of FRIDAY

 Yuri Adachi

 High school student Ikko Watanabe, winner of the All-Japan Classification Championships in the shortboard category, talks about his dreams for the future...! Behind his innocent smile, there is the face of a professional who overcame the hardships of becoming a professional surfer and fights for the world on a daily basis.

Pro surfer Ichikoh Watanabe’s goal is to medal at the Olympics like Kanoa Igarashi

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