Ecuadorian surfer Israel Barone dies of a heart attack at age 34

 The surfer represented Ecuador at the World Surfing Games and the Bolivarian Games.

Israel Barona, a 34-year-old surfer from Ecuador, has died in El Salvador on Tuesday, 31 October.

He had been in the Central American nation for a competition.

Barona took up surfing when he was 10 years old and started competing at the national level five years later. He has since won several national competitions and has also represented Ecuador at the World Surfing Games and Bolivarian Games, in addition to regularly taking part in event's on the Men's Qualifying Series of the World Surf League (WSL).

Barona's sister Dominic Barona is a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and competed in the women's surfing competition at the 2023 Pan American Games this week.

"The Olympic Movement extends its heartfelt condolences to the Barona Matute family, following the death of the great athlete of Team Ecuador Surf, Israel Barona Matute. Rest in peace, champion...," the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee published on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

NOTA DE PESAR |

El olimpismo extiende sus sentidas condolencias a la familia Barona Matute, frente al deceso del gran deportista del #TeamEcuador Surf, Israel Barona Matute. Descansa en paz campeón...@wsl @ISAsurfing @PASA_Surf @SurfEcuador pic.twitter.com/ZC6MYWeNHW

— Comite_Olimpico_Ecu (@ECUADORolimpico) October 31, 2023

Katherine Díaz Surf Foundation | Bitcoin Beach, develops a campaign to collect donations in BTC in memory of the surfer Katherine Díaz.

The well-known social project from El Salvador, Bitcoin Beach, develops a campaign to collect donations in BTC in memory of the surfer Katherine Díaz.  

The shining star of this program was Katherine Diaz, a 22-year-old surfer who was tragically struck and killed by lightning as she exited the water at her home break in El Tunco on March 19th. The coastal communities are reeling from the void created by this tragedy, but we would like to turn this nightmare into a positive movement in memory of Katy. The ESA national athletics programs face a variety of challenges, and this program hopes to address the problems with funding, training, exposure, and ability to travel with biannual trips to performance and industry destinations so that the name Katherine Diaz will continue to be an inspiration to female and male ESA surfers for generations to come.

On March 19, 2021, the Men’s and Women’s Salvadoran surf teams signed their first-ever paid contracts. These contracts, funded by the Bitcoin Beach initiative and denominated in satoshis, made them the first-ever national sports team to be funded solely by bitcoin.

In commemoration of the late Katy Diaz, we aim to create a sustainable surf, travel, and development program that includes the BTC community as a sponsor/contributor to maximize the talent of ESA surfers and the positive impact that surfing and tourism can have on the development of the coastal communities in El Salvador.

Thanks for your generous gifts!

Temperature

Temperature from Jordan Montgomery

A few months ago when all of North America was flat, Stevie Pittman saw a little bump on the charts headed to El Salvador. Although it was nothing special it was better than sitting at home. Here is a little recap of our few days bouncing around in the heat.

Direct - Shot - Edited: Jordan Montgomery

Music: The Wake

Surfer: Stevie Pittman

Camera: RED Weapon Scarlet

Lakey Peterson | Black + White

Lakey Peterson | Black + White from LIEBER FILMS

Lakey Peterson in Central America shredding.