Courtney Conlogue  
The Super Girl


Courtney Conlogue, who just turned 17, is probably the most successful junior surfer in surfing history.   

Born in Santa Ana, California on August 25, 1992, Conlogue was born to surf and to win everything that came her way. This has been proven time and again in the last few years and especially in 2009.

She has been a member of the USA Surfing Team for six consecutive years, obtained the Bronze Medal in the 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship and was Silver Medalist in 2009.  Months later, competing in one of the most famous and classic world surfing events, the US Open, Courtney prevailed over the best professionals in existence, at the age of 16. 

Two weeks later, again in an open event, the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games, she surfed spectacularly and won again. 
Last but not least, a week later, in the Super Girl Junior Pro, she won again.

Three consecutive victories in the three competitions she participated in.  Not bad, especially considering she’s not even 17.  Courtney obtained more in 4 weeks than the majority of professional surfers do their entire career.

In the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games, Courtney competed against the best athletes from 35 countries, made it through six heats, and in a difficult final against Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), her fellow countrywoman Sage Erickson (USA) and Pauline Ado (FRA), Conlogue dominated from beginning to end to win with a comfortable lead.

Excited, she commented, “To obtain these two consecutive wins was impressive.  I simply come to surf and have a good time.  The last month was awesome for me and I am very happy with everything that is happening. 
I have competed in ISA events for six years, I have worked hard and finally I have managed to win.  It means a lot to me to have won this championship.”
Her victory was fundamentally important for the USA Surfing Team who won the Team Gold Medal for the first time in 13 years. 

“It was challenging to get the Gold Medal.  I knew we'd have to work really hard since the Aussies know how to win that event.  You can't be the only person from your team in a final but this time we had five people in the finals so I couldn't have done it without any of the other four people.
They all performed amazing -- Ben Bourgeois, Cory Lopez, Tony Silvagni and Sage Erickson all surfed at the top of their game,” commented Conlogue during an interview with Surfline. 

According to surfing journalist Darlene Conolly in a recent article published on the biggest surfing webpage in the world, Surfline.com:

“If there's one thing that sets Courtney Conlogue apart from her competitors, it's confidence. When you talk to her, you can hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes and recognize it in her surfing.”

The results show that all of this is true, she is a National Champion, a World Champion, an X-Games Champion, and the US Open Champion. 

As a committed and intelligent athlete, she says all she wants is “…to go to college to get a Masters in Business Marketing and Physical Therapy. I know exactly what I want to do and how it's going to work, I just need to figure out which schools offer the best education with traveling and all that.”

This may sound impressive, but it goes with with all she has done in her short but successful career.  She may have gained this much as a Junior, but she feels she has already accomplished enough.  In any case, she says she will compete in WQS events and try to get to the ASP World Tour.

If her accomplishments in the last few years are an indicator, Conlogue – an excellent student and an impressive athlete – will surely do both.  Will she win the ASP World Tour while handling her business, who knows?  Only time will tell what achievements this determined young lady can accomplish. 

In the meantime, we must make the most of watching her in action.  It’s worth it.

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karin Sierralta (Peru).

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