The video call from California early in the morning local time is answered by a young man with a strong and calm demeanor. “Basic Yankee”, someone could immediately say based on the answers.
However, it does not mean anything negative now. The answers just come so naturally and carefully weighed.
It’s as if this 18-year-old is giving an interview like a seasoned professional athlete.
Lukas to McMahon that kind of status in surfing is just a dream.
The 2024 Paris Olympics came too soon.
But at the 2028 Olympics, McMahon may even be one of Finland’s hopes for success, at his home games in Los Angeles.
At first, Finland was joked about
Lukas McMahon has lived all his life in California, but his mother is from Finland.
McMahon lives in Del Mar, a small beach town in San Diego County.
Based on where he lives, it’s no surprise that McMahon ended up trying surfing at the age of 10.
– In addition to the fact that several of my friends surfed, I was inspired to the sport by constantly seeing surfing in the news and everywhere.
The sport became more serious a few years later. McMahon realized that this is what he wants to do even when he’s older, started to train more systematically and participate in local competitions.
– At first I didn’t succeed, but I kept trying. I persevered. Over time, I started getting results, and one thing led to another.
– My father joked to me 4-5 years ago that “what if you surfed in the Finnish national team”. I was like “ha ha, it’s fun”.
That became a reality.
– I am very happy about it.
Utopia in Finland, everyday life in California
McMahon and the Finnish Surfboard Association combined Juho Mikkonenmultiple Finnish champion of the sport and chairman of the Surfboard Association.
– It was a very easy decision to represent Finland. My mom told me to do it too. There is nothing amazing about that. I wanted to show my differences.
Of course, it is also clear that places in the competition are more easily available in Finnish than in American colors.
For someone living in Finland, an Olympic spot in surfing would be utopia. There are no conditions here, for many reasons. The Baltic Sea is such a small body of water that there is no room for the generation of waves characteristic of oceans.
Finnish Surfboard Association are opened on the pages, that in the oceans, large waves generated in storms far from the coasts break on the shores as clean, powerful lines. In the Baltic Sea, waves are created by the force of local winds, on the beaches the weather is windy and the breaking waves are messy.
McMahon has never surfed in Finland, but would like to give it a chance someday, “return to his roots”.
McMahon only knows a few words of Finnish.
– It is such a difficult language. I’ve never studied it, but when I’m aiming for a spot at the Los Angeles Olympics, I’d like to try to learn, says McMahon politely.
– My mother can still do it.
McMahon has not been to Finland for a couple of years, but hopes to do so next summer – at the end of the trip to Indonesia.
California, on the other hand, has no shortage of waves. McMahon surfs every day, sometimes twice a day.
– I wake up at six, I surf around 7-10, I go to school. Then, depending on the waves, I go surfing again.
If there are no more waves in the afternoon, McMahon does side training, goes to the weight room.
Surfing is a sport that requires a lot of agility and strength. At the same time, it is a sport that emphasizes the connection with nature, the forces of the sea. A lot of ability is required from a surfer to interpret the weather and conditions.
Surfing is challenging in so many ways, physically and mentally, that it is not useless to be in the water, even if you don’t always get a good wave.
– However, how much and how often I surf depends on how good the waves are. The better they are, the better I become.
You can surf in California all year round, but the best waves are in winter and autumn. There is plenty of choice when it comes to finding world-class surf spots, also depending on the season and weather.
To become a professional and to the Olympics
McMahon still wouldn’t call himself a professional surfer.
– I would say that I am on my way to becoming one.
First, he has to raise his level from the current basic level competitions (qualifying series) to the challenger level.
McMahon will graduate from high school in a couple of months. He has already organized his mornings free from school on the condition of surfing.
Based on social media, McMahon already has partners, for example. But when asked what it takes to be a professional surfer, he emphasizes the word “determination”. McMahon also points to determination as a strength.
– For me, it is above all about the spiritual side.
McMahon has already made it to the big games. In February, he represented Finland in the World Surfing Games of the International Surfing Association (ISA). They are also considered the sport’s World Championships.
They were also the games from which McMahon could have already grabbed Finland’s Olympic place in Paris.
– I got through three batches. I’m pretty happy, but I know I can do better.
His ranking was tied for 64th, when there were 144 competitors. In the previous year, in similar competitions in El Salvador, McMahon cleared only one round.
Even though McMahon did not consider claiming an Olympic place an impossibility, he emphasizes that the most important thing now is to get to the bigger games.
Also Olympics.com wondered At the time of the Puerto Rico Games, how can a Finn aim for an Olympic place.
McMahon told the website that he is even more proud to be able to represent Finland in big events.
– I just want to inspire children watching my surfing to say: “Oh, I want to try surfing”.
In 2028, the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
– That is definitely my dream. 2028 LA Games, I want to be there and I will work as hard as I can under its conditions.
And McMahon is not even the only candidate from California to be the first Finnish representative of Olympic surfing.
A good year younger than McMahon Eeli Timperi17, won the U.S. Under-16 Championship last summer.
Both of Timper’s parents are Finnish. The family moved to California for the father’s work in 2012.
– I have known him for a long time. He is my good friend. I enjoy how we push each other and it’s cool that we can travel together representing Finland, McMahon is happy.
A little support from Finland
Tanja Piha The board of the Finnish Surfboard Association believes that in 2028 the Finnish color will really be seen in surfing at the Olympics.
Timperi and McMahon can be at their best in terms of their development arc at that time. There are currently no other potential Olympic hopefuls.
– In California, there are completely different opportunities to train, better coaching, more versatile additional training and, of course, competitions. If you want to succeed in this sport, Finland is not the place where you can make the effort, Piha signs off.
The surfboard association’s budget is small. Through the national team activities, the Finnish sports federation has been able to provide the two with clothing and a coach’s place for prestigious competitions.
– And mental support and sparring, which their families have appreciated.
However, Piha’s expectations for the next four-year period are wild.
– When we start to really aim for a place at the Olympics – I wouldn’t consider it impossible to aim for a medal in Los either – then it means that the investments in terms of the federation and Finnish sports could be different.
Piha praises the Olympic Committee for having gathered the rookie sports of the Olympic family together. The goal has been to consider measures to better support athletes.
Harsh Olympic criticism
Although for McMahon the Olympics is a solid dream, surfing can be compared on a general level to, for example, the recent discussion about snowboarding. The sport’s Olympic status has caused criticism.
In its background, surfing is a low-key, unique subculture where competition has not been important. Tanja Piha is familiar with the conversation.
– There are definitely two schools of thought. Others are of the opinion that surfing should never be competitive, and there are many surfers who aim for World Cup and Olympic success. It gives them the opportunity to work more professionally and earn a living. It is the evolution of the species.
In particular, moving this year’s Paris Olympic surfing to Tahiti has attracted great criticism.
You could also find wonderful surfing spots in France, but it may be that there are no guaranteed waves in France just in time for the Olympics.
Piha also raises, for example, the fact that surfers in Finland feel sad about the poor condition of the Baltic Sea.
– Surfing is a sport where you interact with nature. Every surfer wants to cherish that the seas are clean and that the actions that are taken respect nature. That’s the number one starting point.
In Tahiti, in Teahupo’o, the surfing conditions are ideal, perhaps the best in the world. However, it has been feared that the competition arrangements will destroy the unique nature of the area.
That’s why the Olympics cause conflicting thoughts in Piha’s mind as well.
– I love that atmosphere, but there are a lot of things associated with the Olympics that we cannot accept as a general public.