South African · Cape Town, South Africa · Born 9 November 1993South African professional surfer who won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the country's most decorated surfing performance, beating seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore en route to the final.
Born in Cape Town on 9 November 1993, Bianca Buitendag learned to surf at age eight at Victoria Bay with her father Colin and brothers. She won the Billabong ASP World Junior Championship in 2011 and qualified for the World Surf League Championship Tour in 2013, earning Rookie of the Year honours after finishing eighth in the world. Buitendag's best season came in 2015, when she reached a career-high ranking of world number four despite the sudden death of her father partway through the year. She competed on tour intermittently over the following years while completing a finance and management degree at Northeastern University. Buitendag's defining moment came at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, surfing's Olympic debut. Seeded 17th, she upset seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore in round three and continued eliminating higher-ranked opponents through to the final, where she finished runner-up to Carissa Moore, claiming South Africa's second medal of the Games and its most celebrated surfing result. Buitendag retired from competitive surfing after the Tokyo Games, closing out a career that established her as South Africa's most successful professional surfer, male or female.
Winning Olympic silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games, South Africa's most decorated surfing result
How They Played
Powerful backhand attack with a tall, upright stance
Lasting Impact
South Africa's most successful professional surfer
South African Athletes