For the second time in Olympic history, surfing medals are up for grabs. The French Olympic committee’s grand gesture to the surfing world is the world-infamous left, Teahupo‘o, in Tahiti, named as the exclusive venue for competition. Olympic officials cherry-pick four days from a nine-day waiting period, running from 27 July through to 4 August 2024. Forty-eight surfers from eighteen countries will trade barrels over four full days of competition, until six of them end up on the podium with medals around their necks. Before athlete’s collars are decorated with gold, silver or bronze, Teahupo‘o’s name warns them to protect their heads. In Tahitian, Teahupo‘o roughly translates te aha “to sever or split open” and upo’o “head”. 1
The Paris 2024 Olympic surfing event will be a stark contrast to surfing’s Olympic debut, held in Japan in 2020. The contest ran in chunky, mediocre surf at Tsurigasaki Beach where competitors hacked at fun-sized waves one might find on any day at any beach, anywhere on the planet.
Surfers may think one of France’s world-class beaches, like Biarritz or Hossegor, would be a logical choice. But the Southwest of France in July to August isn’t exactly peak season—it’s mid-summer—so scoring good-to-excellent surf
