The surfing world has lost one of its top young talents. Kalani David, whose full name was Kalani David Feeney Barrientos, died Saturday, reportedly after suffering a seizure while practicing in Costa Rica. He was 24.
Kalani David, a surfer who was a former junior world surfing champion, suffered a seizure Saturday while practicing in Costa Rica and died, according to friends and authorities. https://t.co/ZsekQiotXj
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) September 21, 2022
Here’s more on what happened, from that story by USA Today’s Lorenzo Reyes:
David was surfing at Playa Hermosa in Jacó, a small town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, when he died, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial – Costa Rica’s official investigative branch – confirmed to the Associated Press.
“He was surfing when he apparently suffered some kind of epileptic seizure and drowned,” they said in a message to The Associated Press. “The death is still under investigation.”
David had been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which is a heart condition that can cause rapid heartbeats, paralysis and seizures.
David won the U16 category of the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Panama in 2012 when he was just 14, and also helped Hawaii to the team title that year. He went on to appear in a lot of surfing and skateboarding movies. His passing has sparked tributes from the surfing world, including from famed filmmaker and photographer Peter King:
Here are some further tributes to David from the surfing world:
And here’s a clip of David surfing in Hawaii in 2015:
Our thoughts go out to David’s family and friends.
[USA Today; image from RCVA on YouTube]