Anaí Porras Pilato from Panama Achieves Top Honors for Central America at the Junior World Surfing Championship.
Panamanian surfer Anaí Porras Pilato, 15, born in Bocas del Toro, placed 25th in the Under-16 category of the 2026 Junior World Surfing Championship, held in El Salvador. This result made her the highest-ranked Central American in the tournament, according to Global News Services SA. Porras Pilato competed representing Guatemala because he has dual citizenship. Her father, Ricardo Porras, is Guatemalan. The World Championship brought together some 450 junior surfers from 56 countries. The competitions took place on La Bocana and El Sunzal beaches in El Salvador. The 25th place also represented the best result ever achieved by a Guatemalan athlete in the history of the Junior World Surfing Championships, according to the report.
“It’s the culmination of many years of effort in this beautiful sport that I love so much. I’m incredibly proud to have come this far because, moreover, it will encourage more kids to practice surfing in a region where we have excellent quality waves,” said Porras Pilato. The young woman lives and trains in Bocas del Toro, where she learned to surf and from there she travels to participate in international competitions. “I prepared very well for the World Championships in El Salvador; it was an intense training program, and thankfully, we are now seeing the positive results. This outcome encourages me to keep going in the coming months,” she said.
Her father highlighted the conditions that Central America has for developing this sport and considered that his daughter’s result shows the potential of the young people of the region. “Our region has all the necessary conditions to excel in this sport at international events; this step is very important because it indicates that we are on the right track,” said Ricardo Porras. Mikela Castro Bolívar, from Costa Rica, born in Playa Cocles, Limón, and residing in Playa Jacó, also ranked 25th in the Under-16 category. In the team competition, Australia won the 2026 Junior World Championship with 8,078 points, followed by the United States with 6,048, and Brazil with 5,430.
