PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — At only 15 years old, Marlynn Glaub has accomplished something most surfers only dream of: she is traveling to El Salvador to compete in the World Junior Championships as a member of Team USA.
Glaub, who is from Jupiter, has been surfing since she was 8 years old after attending surf camp and quickly falling in love with the sport.
WATCH BELOW: Local teen surfs for Team USA at world junior championships
"I've been surfing for seven years now. I went to surf camp and fell in love with it, and I've been doing it ever since," Glaub said.
Her passion for surfing runs in the family. Her father surfed when he was younger and still surfs today, and it was her parents who first encouraged her to give it a try.
"My dad was a surfer when he was younger, and he still surfs, so it was my parents who really convinced me to start going to surf camp, and after that I started begging them to go more weeks that summer," Glaub said.
She quickly moved into competitive surfing, competing in local Eastern Surfing Association events around Jupiter with the help of her trainer, William Kimbell.
"I'm a six-time East Coast Champion. I also have been on the USA Junior National team for two years now," Glaub said.
Glaub is one of only three female athletes selected to represent Team USA in the International Surfing Association Junior Championships. The event features 50 to 60 countries and is considered the biggest event in the sport.
"It's almost like a mini-Olympics. There are countries from all over the world, it's just the whole world competing against each other," Glaub said.
She calls the selection one of her greatest achievements to date.
"That's probably one of my biggest accomplishments so far," Glaub said.
While she is eager to compete, Glaub admits the scale of the event brings some nerves.
"It's definitely a little nerve-wracking because this is my first ISA, but I'm really excited because we have a really good team. I'm super excited; it's going to be super fun," Glaub said.
The ISA Junior Championships run Sept. 4-13 in El Salvador.
