The road to competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been a rocky one for teenage surf phenom Erin Brooks – and she hasn’t even qualified yet.
Brooks was born in Texas, but raised in Hawaii. However, her father holds dual citizenship with America and Canada, so, in a bid to secure one of the limited slots for Paris 2024, Brooks decided to represent her Canadian roots.
At first, she was denied. But now, after appealing, the courts changed their mind.
In a post on X, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East and advocate in Brooks’ case for citizenship, Jenny Kwan, posted the following:
“Lost Canadian Erin Brooks has been granted her Canadian citizenship after reconsideration by the Minister of Immigration. Erin Brooks, a 16-year old surfing prodigy and has worked hard for her whole life for the chance to compete for Canada at the Olympics.
“When Erin was born, she’d the right to Canadian citizenship. Conservative C-37 revoked that right in 2009. As a result of this unjust law, Erin was denied this life-changing opportunity to represent Canada in the 2024 Olympics.”
Back in June of 2023, Brooks was banned for surfing for Team Canada as she was not yet a citizen; then, Team Canada was stripped of the medals they won in International Surfing Association (ISA) competitions; and finally, as the final nail in the coffin – so it appeared – Brooks’ citizenship was officially denied.
However, that’s all changed now, and Brooks is free to represent the land of maple syrup and poutine.
“I love Canada,” Brooks said in a statement. “I have never been prouder to wear the Maple Leaf. To Minister Marc Miller and MP Jenny Kwan, you have changed my life. I believe that I will do something truly special for my country thanks to your gift of citizenship.”
Now, Brooks will be looking to secure qualification to surf for Team Canada in the Paris 2024 Games – which will be held at Teahupo’o, Tahiti – with a strong showing at the ISA World Surfing Games in February in Puerto Rico. If she can pull it off, she’ll join Sanoa Olin, the first Canadian surfer in history to qualify for the Olympics.
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