Costa Rica has long been recognized has being one of the best surfing destinations in the world. Now, the Dream Team in Costa Rica has proven that to be the case by taking the overall gold medal during the International Surfing Association 2015 World Surfing Games. The event took place in Playa Popoya, Nicaragua. The Costa Rican team also brought home a gold medal for the ISA Aloha Cup tag team event.
Costa Rica brought home the overall gold by racking up a significant amount of points from the brother and sister team of Leilani McGonagle and Noe Mar, both from Pavones, located in Costa Rica's Southern Zone.
Both made it to the finals, during which Leilani, a four-time world medalist, earned a silver medal. Brother Noe Mar won first place in the Open Division with two rides in less than 7 minutes. Additionally, he became the individual world champion.
The rest of the team, including Lisbeth Vindas and Jason Torres, also performed quite well during the competition. Anthony Fillingim also made a grade showing, as did Carolos Muñoz; however, the latter was penalized after it was determined that Muñoz inflicted a foul. As a result, he took 4th place in the Reparcharge.
During the seven-day competition, Costa Ricans thronged the beach while cheering for their favorite team. After completing the competition, Noe Mar was hoisted onto the shoulders of several attendees.
In addition to Costa Rica taking first place overall, Portugal came in second, while the United States took the bronze. Peru, which won last year's competition, took fourth place.
