BARONA Dominic

Preferred stance
Goofy (worldsurfleague.2020)

General
OLYMPIC INSPIRATION
Her desire to compete at the Olympic Games dates back to the 1996 Games in Atlanta, when she watched Ecuadorean race walker Jefferson Perez win the nation's first ever Olympic medal, a gold in the 20km walk. "I was so young when I saw him on television. I stood in front of the television to listen and sing the anthem. That moment marked me, and ever since surfing was confirmed [as an Olympic sport] I knew I could be there myself." She missed world tour events in order to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where he silver medal qualified her for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I went down the WSL rankings because two events overlapped with the Pan Ams, so I had to choose. But I will always do my best for my country. I made the sacrifice of skipping five professional events so I could do a training camp to represent Ecuador at the Pan American Games." (eluniverso.com, 19 Aug 2019, 03 Apr 2018)(eluniverso.com, 19 Aug 2019, 01 Apr 2018)

HOME BREAK
She considers Ecuador to be one of the world's best locations for surfing. "I've visited around 20 countries but the truth is that I like Ecuador the most. I love it, not only because it is my home, but because we have incredible and perfect waves, we have warm water and some of the world's best weather. We can also surf relaxed because there are no sharks." (eluniverso.com, 19 Aug 2019)

She became the first Ecuadorean surfer to win a Pan American Games medal in the sport when she won silver in the shortboard event at the 2019 Games in Lima, Peru. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Jun 2021)