Dominic Isabel Barona Matute[a] (born 10 February 1991) is an Ecuadorian surfer.[1] She is regarded as one of the prominent surfers in Ecuador.[2] Her brother Israel Barona is also a surfer who represents Ecuador at international level. She is the first surfer from Ecuador to have competed at the Olympics.[3]

Mimi Barona
Personal information
BornDominic Isabel Barona Matute
(1991-02-10) 10 February 1991 (age 33)
Montañita, Ecuador
Medal record
Women's Surfing
Representing  Ecuador
Bolivarian Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Trujillo open
Gold medal – first place 2016 Iquique open shortboard
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima open surf

Career

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Barona pursued her interest in surfing at the age of 13 after being influenced by her older brother Israel.[4] Little by little, she began to follow the Alas circuit in Peru, then in Costa Rica and Panama.[5] In 2014, she claimed second place at the ISA 50TH World Surfing Games which was held in Punta Rocas, Peru. In this event, Mimi achieved the highest score in a round in the history of the event. However, Peruvian surfer Analí Gómez clinched victory with a score of 12.86 while Mimi finished with the score of 12.53.[6]

Dominic was the flagbearer for Ecuador during the 2016 Bolivarian Beach Games and also claimed a gold medal in the women's open shortboard event during the 2016 Bolivarian Games.[1] She became the South American champion of the World Surf League in 2018 with a total score of 4,310 followed by Melanie Giunia of Peru who had a final score of 3,260 units. She also emerged as the winner of the 2019 Corona Pro Surf Circuit, organized by the National Surf Organization in Puerto Rico.[7][8]

She represented Ecuador at the 2019 Pan American Games and secured a silver medal in the women's open surf whereas Daniella Rosas of Peru clinched the gold medal.[9] She also notably became the first Ecuadorian surfer to win a medal in surfing at the Pan American Games.[1] She also qualified to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics where surfing was included for the first time in Olympics.[3][10]

She preferred to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games over the World Surf League tour events despite the WSL tour events were also considered as Olympic qualifying events. However, she was eligible to compete at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics following her medal success at the 2019 Pan American Games.[11][12] She represented Ecuador at the 2020 Summer Olympics which also marked her debut appearance at the Olympics.[13] She was also the only Ecuadorian surfer to participate at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was eliminated from the round 2 of the women's shortboard event.[14][15][16]

Notes

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  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Barona and the second or maternal family name is Matute.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Surfing - BARONA Dominic". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ "The reality of being a professional female surfer in Ecuador". Salty Souls Experience. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hanson, Sharon (24 July 2021). "Dominic Barona wins a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games | Other sports | Sports". Sunday Vision. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. ^ Ponce, Santiago. "Dominic, la mejor sobre las olas". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  5. ^ Octubre, 19 De; 2018 - 00h00 (19 October 2018). "Dominic Barona festeja pase a Lima, pero su objetivo es Tokio". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Mimi Barona, segunda posición en el ISA 50th World Surfing Games en Punta Rocas - Perú - Montañita - Ecuador". www.xn--montaita-h3a.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  7. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/ecuador/el-universo/20191017/281973199423048. Retrieved 26 July 2021 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Octubre, 15 De; 2019 - 17h33 (15 October 2019). "'Mimi' Barona, campeona en competencia de surf en Puerto Rico". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Agosto, 1 De; 2019 - 10h39 (1 August 2019). "Surfista Dominc Barona, entre las cuatro mejores de los Juegos Panamericanos". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Agosto, 6 De; 2019 - 00h00 (6 August 2019). "Dominic Barona: Yo no descansaré hasta llegar a Tokio". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Abril, 1 De; 2018 - 00h00 (1 April 2018). "Jefferson Pérez inspira a Dominic Barona, rumbo a Tokio 2020". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "La surfista Mimi Barona logró su clasificación a los Juegos Olímpicos" [Surfer Mimi Barona qualified for the Olympics] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Mimi Barona: I tried to do my best, it was an incredible experience to be at the Olympics | Other Sports | sports". today.in-24.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Surfing - Women Schedule". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ^ Julio, 24 De; 2021 - 12h34 (24 July 2021). "Mimi Barona quedó emparejada en la serie 1 con Carissa Moore, Teresa Bonvalot y Daniella Rosas". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Mimi Barona is eliminated in the second round of playoffs | Other Sports | sports". today.in-24.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
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