Teahupo’o, French Polynesia – July 29, 2024, The true face of Teahupo’o began to show itself today with solid 10-foot sets unloading the full power of the Pacific Ocean onto the sharp, shallow reef. It was an unbelievable display, featuring the world’s best surfers providing a show like no other on sporting’s biggest stage, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A completed Round 3 decided Quarterfinalists on the men’s side, with competition called off due to deteriorating conditions before the women could hit the water.
The biggest names in men’s surfing didn’t hold back in pursuit of an Olympic Gold Medal. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and France’s Joan Duru took top honors. Medina set a new record for the highest single wave score in Olympic history, a 9.90, and Duru lodged the highest heat total, 18.13. Duru’s record landed just 0.03 ahead of João Chianca’s 18.10. Chianca claimed victory in a tight battle against Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) that was one for the history books.
Underdog victories from Peru’s Alonso Correa and Japan’s Reo Inaba kept medal hopes alive for their nations, while those of Mexico, Morocco, South Africa and USA were dashed.
2023 WSL World Title runner-up Ethan Ewing (AUS) tamed Teahupo’o less than a year after breaking his back in its waters. Ewing’s teammate Jack Robinson (AUS) remained undefeated against two-time WSL World Champion John John Florence, and Florence’s teammate Griffin Colapinto went down to local Tahitian Kauli Vaast.
2024 ISA World Surfing Games Gold Medalist Gabriel Medina (BRA) stayed hungry from the start of a highly anticipated rematch. Having narrowly lost to Tokyo 2020 Silver Medalist Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) in the Semifinals of Tokyo 2020, the 30-year-old was not going to let another chance at an Olympic medal slip through his fingers.
“Tokyo was a hard one to deal with because I was so close to the medal,” Medina said.
Taking off straight underneath an unbelievably thick lip, Medina, the three-time WSL World Champion, was swallowed by the beast before being spat out with all 10 of his fingers high in the air. Two judges allotted him the perfect score of a 10, three slightly less, and the final score came through as a 9.90, the highest in Olympic surfing history, topping Igarashi’s own record of 9.33 from Tokyo 2020. Igarashi never found rhythm in the heat and Medina moved one step closer to his goal.
“The wave was just so perfect,” Medina said. “I thought I was gone, and I was like, ‘Oh, I need to try.’ The wind was holding me a little bit and then I just went for it and the wave was a 10, so I’m stoked to get a 9.90. I get comfortable when the waves are good. As long as it’s like this, it’s good for everyone and whoever gets the best wave wins. Today was a dreamy day for surfing. I never imagined that we could get waves like this in the Olympics.”
2023 ISA World Surfing Games Gold Medalist Alan Cleland Jr (MEX) was chomping at the bit to take on the conditions today, and he didn’t hold back. The 22-year-old once again delivered a highly impressive performance that included an 8.17, but the cool calm of France’s Joan Duru took him to another level.
Duru, the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games Gold Medalist, picked off two of the most impressive barrels of the event, earning scores in the 9-point range for each. The resulting 18.13 heat total is both the highest of the event so far, and the highest in Olympic Surfing history. It’s a fitting finish for the 35-year-old who will be retiring from competitive surfing after his appearance in Paris 2024.
“The focus is to get deep and have the best barrel of your life in the heat and make it two times,” Duru said. “I’ve had a really long career and I’m so stoked to be here now. It’s what I was waiting for to finish like I wanted. I’m so stoked to be here in the best wave in the world. We are just getting barrelled, having fun with the pressure and just enjoying, a lot, the moment.”
2024 ISA World Surfing Games Silver Medalist Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) took on Brazilian charger João Chianca in an extremely tight battle that celebrated the best of surfing. The two went blow-for-blow, exchanging 8 and 9-point rides, both surfers taking off behind the peak and driving through heavy, west-bowl Teahupo’o barrels. You couldn’t wipe the stoke off the pair’s faces as they shared stories of their excellent waves with each other in the lineup.
After multiple lead changes, Chianca took a wave with 5 minutes remaining to turn the heat for a final time, his 18.10 heat total earning the win just 0.30 ahead of Boukhiam’s 17.80, which included a 9.70 single-wave score. Though upset to not advance, the 30-year-old Moroccan couldn’t help but appreciate the moment.
“Honestly, out there, I forget everything, in these types of waves, like, wow this is it, you know,” Boukhiam said. “Amazing heat, amazing barrels; big barrels against one of the best guys in the world and I’m fighting in it. We weren’t that serious, we were like, ok, let’s have fun bro. Since the beginning, since the training sessions, we’re like, imagine if it’s big and we have a heat together. And I was like, oh this is it, look at this. It’s pumping and we’re trading back-to-back waves. At the end I was like, please let’s just hope for one more exchange, even though he was needing a score, at least one exchange and may the best man win, but only one wave came.”
In the fourth head-to-head match of their careers, two-time WSL World Champion John John Florence (USA) and Jack Robinson (AUS) met the earliest ever in competition. As two of the greatest barrel-riders of all time, fireworks were expected from their Round 3 heat. With the eyes of the world on them, the two tried to push the limits of what was possible, taking multiple waves from deep on the reef.
It took over half the heat for either surfer to post over a 2-point ride as both suffered multiple heavy wipeouts attempting to push through long, barreling sections. Robinson managed to break away with a 7.17, before finding a backup 5.83, which he immediately improved on for a 6.77. It wasn’t until the final 5-minutes that Florence was able to break out of the 1-point range, earning a 6.50, but he was unable to improve, allowing Robinson to remain undefeated against him.
“We have a lot of history together, it’s growing and I’m sure there’s going to be more to come,” Robinson said. “I always knew it was going to be a bit of a battle, you know, it’s not going to be easy between both of us and we’re going to push each other. I’m just happy that we’re both good after that heat.”
When men’s Quarterfinals take place, four surfers who qualified through the ISA World Surfing Games will face four surfers who qualified through the WSL Championship Tour. Three of those heats will feature teammates facing each other in their quest for Gold Medals.
ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said:
“The first days were amazing, but today was beyond that. Massive eight to 10-foot sets with all the power of the South Pacific were the perfect liquid stage we all hoped for.”
The next call to determine when competition will run will take place on July 30 at 6:15 a.m. TAHT.
Stay tuned to isasurf.org for Paris 2024 results, schedule updates, content, and information.
