MUNOZ Carlos

General
LAST-MINUTE ADDITION
He was a late replacement to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, after Portuguese competitor Frederico Morais had to withdraw due to a positive Covid-19 test. He was surfing in Costa Rica when he received the news, and needed the help of the local fire department to leave the country at such short notice due to flooding that had affected the area. (dukesurf.com, 24 Jul 2021; espn.com.ar, 24 Jul 2021; teletica.com, 24 Jul 2021; zyri.net, 24 Jul 2021)

SLUMP
He has admitted his career suffered as a consequence of his lifestyle off the board. "I had everything to succeed when I began to stay in the comfort zone. I followed surfers who were more concerned about the size of the party rather than on the importance of sleeping to be competitive in each heat. If I won, I would party and when I lost, I would party too. I was going a bad way that affected my performance in the water." The downturn led to him losing his main sponsors in 2018. "I was in a pothole. Luckily, it coincided with the birth of my daughter Leah and a deeper approach to God, those two things did not let me fall, otherwise my life as a surfer would have ended long ago." (delfino.cr, 08 Jun 2020)

BACKGROUND
Born in Nicaragua, at age one month his mother emigrated to Costa Rica. At age seven he came back to Nicaragua with his father but in 2002 he settled in Costa Rica. (delfino.cr, 08 Jun 2020)