A Huntington Beach teenage lifeguard has proven to be one of the best bodysurfers in the world.
Michelle Urkov, 17, recently returned from Australia, where she took second place in the International Bodysurfing Association World Tour finals May 8, an event that drew the best 48 men and 24 women bodysurfers from around the world to compete.
Ukrov entered the event in the trials, meaning she had to earn her spot into the main competition. She had two mid-range results in the qualifying events leading up to the contest, so took a chance that she could advance in the top four out of 12 competitors to make it out of the elimination round.
She then kept the momentum going, earning first place in the quarterfinals and then first again in the semi-finals.
Ukrov led the entire heat in the finals against three other bodysurfers.
Delori Gomes, of Hawaii, took advantage of a 3-foot wave that appeared. Urkov thought it didn’t have enough punch for Gomes to earn a big enough score, but when the judges announced the points, Urkov learned she lost the lead.
“It was so close,” Urkov said. “But I’m very happy for her.”
Urkov said she fell in love with the ocean when she joined the Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguards at age 9.
“I’ve just been around the ocean my whole life,” she said.
She was about 12 when she discovered bodysurfing and started competing in area events.
“It feels like it’s just you and the water,” she said. “It feels like you’re the most connected to the ocean when you don’t have a board between you. It’s really good for mental health and everything along those lines.”
Her favorite places to bodysurfing are the Wedge in Newport Beach and beaches around her hometown of Huntington Beach, Urkov said.
Urkov, who goes to Orange Lutheran High and is preparing to go to UC Irvine, is heading into her third summer as a seasonal lifeguard for the city and is also a competitive water polo player.
She’s hoping to become an advocate for the sport, she said, especially the competition aspect of it, to get other females involved.
The next Bodysurfing World Tour stop is in France, with qualifier events held at Salt Creek in Dana Point, Huntington Beach and Del Mar in San Diego.