Billy Stairmand and Ella Williams are moving on.
The Kiwi surfing duo made a great start to their campaigns at Japan's Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach in the first day of surfing competition in Olympic Games history, progressing to the round of 16.
Williams impressed in her opening heat of the competition, finishing second behind American Caroline Marks and earning a straight pass into the third round.
Marks raced out to the lead early, posting two scores above the six-point mark to run away with the heat. But the battle for second was a heated affair, with the Whangamata athlete duking it out against Costa Rica's Leilani McGonagle and Portugal's Yolanda Hopkins.
Williams and McGonagle traded spots on the leaderboard several times in the heat, but ultimately it was Williams who got the score when it counted. With a 9.70 heat total, Williams moved straight through to round three tomorrow – avoiding the first elimination round – where she will meet World Surf League Championship Tour competitor Brisa Hennessy, also of Costa Rica.