Carissa Moore is set to be among the favourites to win a surfing gold medal at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Carissa Moore has spoken of her gratitude towards Makinohara which hosted the United States’ surfing team prior to the Olympics here in Tokyo.

The world number one delivered a thank you message to Makinohara Mayor Kikuo Sugimoto and a crowd of fans, city employees, and business leaders in the Japanese city.

Moore studied several years of Japanese in middle and high school and has been looking forward to sharpening her Japanese.

"I was practicing all night," she said.

"I wanted to express how much the team appreciated the great care Makinohara took in hosting us with an amazing wave pool, beautiful beach and healthy, delicious meals."

The US team are now set to travel to Chiba where surfing will make its Olympic debut.


USA Surfing said Moore, John John Florence, Kolohe Andino and Caroline Marks left Makinohara "rested" and "energised".

Athletes took advantage of the city’s new Surf Stadium wave pool, Shizunami Beach and the Swing Beach Hotel during the three-day training camp.

Coach Brett Simpson said the goal of their time in Makinohara was to acclimate to Japan’s heat and humidity, test their equipment and use a full-range of sports medicine tools.

Greg Cruse, chief executive of USA Surfing, also thanked Mayor Sugimoto for a "successful" camp that put the team in a "solid position to succeed" at Tokyo 2020.

The Olympic surfing competition window is scheduled to run from July 25 to August 1.