Japan's Kanoa Igarashi maneuvers on a wave during third round of the men's surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 26, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese surfers Kanoa Igarashi and Amuro Tsuzuki moved into the last eight of the Olympic surfing competition Monday with respective wins in the men's and women's third-round heats.

       After a 90-minute delay due to the low tide and shifting weather at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach, Igarashi capitalized on his chances in large but messy conditions to beat Rio Waida of Indonesia by two points to move into the quarterfinals.

       It was Igarashi who got the score when it counted, the dual-citizen of Japan and the U.S. booking an 8.0-point ride on his third scoring wave and finding a 6.0-point second wave in his victory over the Indonesian-Japanese who carried his nation's flag in the opening ceremony.

       The other Japanese to surf in Monday morning's women's third round, Mahina Maeda, was eliminated by American Caroline Marks.

       Igarashi and Hiroto Ohhara made a great start to their Olympic campaigns on the first day of surfing competition in games history on Sunday, earning a straight pass into the third round.

       Ohhara will take on Peru's Miguel Tudela, who was second behind Igarashi in his heat in Round 1, later Monday as he seeks a place in the quarterfinals.

       Tsuzuki showed that quality counts more than quantity, riding only five scoring waves, 10 less than Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb, for a two-wave total of 10.33 to claim her crucial round 3 victory.

       In another women's round 3 heat, Australian seven-time world champion Steph Gilmore was defeated by South African Bianca Buitendag, sinking the medal hope's Tokyo Olympics.

       After the third round, an elimination stage with eight heats of two surfers each, the surfers go head-to-head.

       In a 30-minute heat, surfers are in the water at the same time in a pre-determined competition zone. Each surfer can catch as many waves as possible and receive a score 0-10, but only the top two scores count.

       In the quarterfinals, only the top surfers of all four heats will move through to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the top surfers qualify for the final, and the losers vie for bronze.

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