TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Kanoa Igarashi booked his place in the men's surfing final on Day 5 of the Tokyo Olympics Tuesday, an approaching typhoon not stopping the Japanese surfer's march to gold at the beach to the southeast of the Japanese capital.

       After almost letting his chance at making the first surfing gold medal final slip, Igarashi made a late-heat comeback to upset current world No. 1 Gabriel Medina of Brazil, landing an aerial in the final minutes that received a 9.33 and won him the duel at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach, 17.00 points to 16.76.

       Igarashi will now face Brazilian force of nature Italo Ferreira for gold later Tuesday after the powerful athlete snuck past Australian Owen Wright by less than a point.

       Earlier in the quarterfinals, another Japanese Hiroto Ohhara did not get so lucky with his draw, as he was knocked out by Ferreira, currently the World Surf League No. 2-rank, who drew a near-perfect 9.73 from the judges in his first ride.

       One of the five judges gave his huge air a 10, while the others went 9.9, 9.8, 9.5 and 9.5.

       In the first quarterfinal heat of the day, Igarashi totaled 12.60 for his best two waves against American Kolohe Andino's 11.00 points. Though it was not as commanding a win as Ferreira's, it was enough to take him into the final four in the men's competition.

       The 23-year-old, representing Japan but born and raised in the United States, was the first qualifier for the semifinals.

       Japan's Amuro Tsuzuki, who beat Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons in the women's quarterfinals 13.27 to 11.67, will meet four-time world champion Carissa Moore of the United States in the second semifinal.

       Surfing's first Olympic finals were brought forward 24 hours to Tuesday because of Typhoon Nepartak, which may hit the Tokyo area sometime that day.

       The weather system is delivering better waves, leading games officials to adjust the surfing schedule. The men's gold medal heat is scheduled for 3:46 p.m., followed by the women's gold medal heat.

       The two semifinal winners will progress to the gold medal heat, while the losers will surf for bronze.

       Surfing is making its Olympic debut this year along with three other sports.

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