Filipino Surfer Sacrifices SEA Games 2019 Gold Medal To Save Indonesian Competitor From Drowning
One of the most amazing moments of the 2019 SEA Games was when Roger Casugay, a surfer from the Philippines, sacrificed his gold medal just to save an Indonesian competitor from drowning.
The #seagames2019 surfing is on hold. Indonesian longboard sensation @mencosss broke his leash and swept away and being…
Posted by Jefferson Ganuelas on Thursday, 5 December 2019
Casugay is now being hailed as a hero in his home country and within the surfer community in South East Asia after he gave away the chance of winning a gold medal to stop Arhip Nurhidayat, his competitor from Indonesia, from drowning.
Arhip was surfing when he lost control of his board to the waves during a surfing event when Roger Casugay came to rescue him.
Roger saved him from extreme rolling waves and shared a single surfboard as they rode to the beach to safety.
Upon their return, Arhip held the hand of Roger and declared him the champion of the event.
After the incident, the event was postponed.
The United Philippine Surfing Association has congratulated Casugay for his kind act where he saved his fellow competitor from sustaining life-threatening injuries.
The association called the incident “Sportsmanship at its finest!”
The kind gesture of the surfer went viral on social media.
Here are some of the comments people made on Twitter:
Worth more than gold!
Kaka Proud! ❤️ https://t.co/fm40vydM7f— Cath 🌸⚔️ (@KaoCath) December 7, 2019
This is worth more than gold medal. Mabuhay ka, Roger. Pinoy talaga. Proud ako sayo. God bless you. 🙏🙏🙏 When I read this, it melts my heart. ❤️ I salute you!
— Susan Caderma (@susan_caderma) December 7, 2019
Saving life is priceless…it transcends gold, silver or bronze https://t.co/NBFNOy0yQB
— Monch Arenal (@mon_qat) December 7, 2019
Now this is invaluable. Worth more than any gold. Marvelous display of sportsmanship 💎💎💎
Kinship beats competition. Thank you for the lesson Roger! May your tribe increase!
— paeng lopez (@paengLopez) December 7, 2019
Surfing has been one of the worst-hit sports at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines due to typhoon Kammuri.
The surfing event has been delayed 3 times due to harsh weather.
Organizers of the SEA 2019 Games are making sure the surfers, judges, and spectators can watch the event safely.