{{short description|Costa Rican surfer (born 1999)}} {{family name hatnote|Hennessy|Kobara|lang=Spanish}} {{Infobox person | name = Brisa Hennessy | image = Brisa Hennessy (born 1999) in the video 'Oriunda de la Zona Sur, Brisa Hennessy, entre las primeras cinco surfistas del mundo en los Juegos O'.png | caption = In a 2021 interview | birth_name = Brisa Tomi Hennessy Kobara | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|9|16}} | birth_place = San José, Costa Rica | agent = Athelo Group | module = {{infobox surfer | child = yes | height = 5 ft 4 in | weight = 125 lb<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldsurfleague.com/athletes/3971/brisa-hennessy|title=Brisa Hennessy Surfer Bio | Age, Height, Videos & Results|website=World Surf League}}</ref> | sponsors = Pro-Lite, Rip Curl, Snow Monkey | stance = Regular |best_year= 2024 – Ranked #4 WSL CT World Tour | major_achievements = *WSL Championship Tour event wins: 1 *Qualification for 2020 Summer Olympics, *2x ISA World Gold Medalist *Pan American Games Gold Medalist *2024 Summer Olympics 4th place}} }}
'''Brisa Tomi Hennessy Kobara''' (born September 16, 1999) is a Costa Rican professional surfer who competes in the World Surf League (WSL). In 2019, Hennessy's standing in the WSL qualified her to represent Costa Rica for Surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.<ref name="auto">[https://news.co.cr/surfer-brisa-hennessy-classified-to-tokyo-2020/80776/ Costa Rican Surfer Brisa Hennessy Qualifies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, ''The Costa Rica Star'', 5 December 2019] (accessed 29 March 2021)</ref> The Tokyo Olympics marked the first instance for surfing to be recognised as an Olympic sport. She participated at the 2024 Olympic Games achieving the fourth place, one of the best performances for a Costa Rican athlete.
== Early life == When she was three years old, Hennessy stood up on her first wave.<ref>[https://howlermag.com/surf-profile-brisa-hennessy/ SURF PROFILE – BRISA HENNESSY, Howler Magazine, 30 April 2019] (accessed 30 March 2021)</ref> She was born in San José, but grew up on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, where both of her parents ran a surf school. Hennessy lived in Costa Rica until the age of nine when she moved to Oahu to pursue a professional surfing career.<ref name="auto1">[https://www.worldsurfleague.com/athletes/3971/brisa-hennessy?yearResultsTourCode=wct&yearResultsYear=2019/ About Brisa Hennessy, World Surf League] (accessed 30 March 2021)</ref> She also spent summers in Fiji, giving her exposure to some of the best conditions the sport has to offer at a young age. Brisa still lives somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle to this day, traveling from place to place wherever her career takes her. She does not have a permanent residence.<ref name="auto2">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXo53idQiUE/ Costa Rican Olympic Dream: Brisa Hennessy, ISAsurfing, 3 September 2019] (accessed 31 March 2021)</ref>
== Career victories == {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;" |- bgcolor=skyblue | colspan=4; style="background: blue; color: white" align="center" | '''WCT Wins''' |- bgcolor=#bdb76b !Year!!Event!!Venue!!Country
|- | style=text-align:center| 2022 || Hurley Pro Sunset Beach || Sunset Beach, Oahu | {{Flag|Hawaii}}
|- | colspan=4; style="background: blue; color: white" align="center" | '''WSL Challenger Series Wins''' |- bgcolor=#bdb76b !Year !width= 33.8% | Event !width= 33% | Venue !Country |- | style="text-align:center" |2021 |Roxy Pro France |Hossegor, Nouvelle-Aquitaine || {{FRA}} |- |- bgcolor=skyblue |}
== Professional career == Hennessy qualified for the World Surf League Championship Tour in 2018 at the age of 18. She became the first Costa Rican to qualify for the tour.<ref>[https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/brisa-hennessy-a-surfer-in-paradise/ Brisa Hennessy: A surfer in paradise, Tokyo 2020, 7 July 2020] (accessed 31 March 2021)</ref> She recorded her highest finish ever at the WSL Corona Bali Protected event in 2019, where she took home third place at the annual event.<ref name="auto1"/> In 2019 she had seven Top 10 finishes throughout the season.{{fact|date=July 2024}}
In December 2019, Hennessy's standing on the WTC Championship Tour earned her direct qualification to the Tokyo Summer Olympics. She was one of the final two surfers to qualify for the games through the WSL.<ref name="auto"/> She became the first Central American surfer to earn a spot in the Olympic Games as well as just the fifth Costa Rican athlete to qualify for any competition in Tokyo.<ref name="auto"/> In a 2019 interview with the International Surfing Association, she said that bringing a medal home to her homeland of Costa Rica would give her “goosebumps.”<ref name="auto2"/>
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Hennessy relocated to Fiji to live with her parents who had recently established a permanent home on the remote island.<ref>[https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/brisa-hennessy-quarantined-fiji-due-coronavirus/81802/ Brisa Hennessy Is Quarantined in Fiji Due to Coronavirus, Surfline, 31 March 2020] (accessed 28 March 2021)</ref>
She is represented professionally by [https://athelogroup.com/ Athelo Group], a sports agency based out of Stamford, Connecticut.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.athelogroup.com/for-athletes |title=Our Athlete Roster|access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref>
Brisa Hennessy qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She secured her spot thanks to her strong performance on the Championship Tour. This will be her second consecutive Olympic appearance, following her impressive fifth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on which got defeated by surfer Caroline Marks in the quarterfinals. <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/road-to-paris-2024-surfing-qualification-system-explained |title=Road to Paris 2024: Surfing qualification system explained |access-date=July 31, 2024}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ticotimes.net/2023/04/18/brisa-hennessy-qualifies-for-paris-2024-olympics-a-milestone-for-costa-rican-surfing |title=Brisa Hennessy Qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympics: A Milestone for Costa Rican Surfing |date=April 18, 2023 |website=Tico Times |access-date=July 31, 2024}}</ref>
== Current life ==
Outside of surfing, Hennessy enjoys cooking. She is a plant-based athlete who started her own YouTube channel during the pandemic to share her vegan recipes with fans and followers.<ref>[https://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/455304/seven-dinner-ideas-from-brisa-hennessys-plant-based-menu-in-fiji/ Seven Dinner Ideas From Brisa Hennessy's Plant-Based Menu In Fiji, World Surf League, 6 September 2020] (accessed 30 March 2021)</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{WSL}} * {{Olympics.com|brisa-hennessy}} * {{Olympedia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{WSL CT Roster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Brisa}} Category:1999 births Category:Living people Category:Costa Rican surfers Category:World Surf League surfers Category:Surfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic surfers for Costa Rica Category:Sportspeople from Puntarenas Province Category:Costa Rican female surfers Category:Surfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics