PARIS 2024: Surfing preview

Surfing is one of the newer Olympic sports, having made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Australia qualified with a full team of four, Tyler Wright, Molly Picklum, Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing, representing the Surfing Women’s Open and Surfing Men’s Open events respectively.

Surfing at the Paris 2024 Olympics is being held at Teahupo’o, a small and quiet fishing village on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. The first round of competition begins 28 July at 3:00am (AEST).

All the athletes have previously competed at, and proved their worth at Teahupo’o, on the world tour. 

The wave will be challenging nonetheless, with the athletes aiming to use the nerves to their advantage. 

“Teahupo’o is a massive wave of consequence. Anyone who goes out there is a complete and utter psycho. More than likely, I’m going to be scared,” Tyler says. 

Teahupo’o is widely regarded as the most perfect and powerful wave in the world. One wrong move can have deadly consequences.

It’s dangerous because approaching swells transition from very deep water to very shallow water over a short distance. This causes the waves to rise and surge over a shallow razor-sharp reef.

The spectacle should attract new audiences who will be mesmerised by this roaring left hander.

The Australian Surfing Team are heading to the Games having won three World Surf League (WSL) titles this year. Molly took out the WSL Championship Tour – Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, while Jack won the WSL Championship Tour – Hurley Pro Sunset Beach and Margaret River 2024 competitions.

At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Australia secured a bronze medal in the men’s competition, a milestone both disciplines are hoping to surpass.

“This is the most ideal team for Australia and the location in Tahiti,” Molly says.

“Jack, Ethan and Tyler are such good barrel riders, and this wave is all barrel riding.

“This team is definitely going to be worthy of sitting on the edge of your seat and watching that’s for sure.”

Ones to watch

Jack Robinson won the World Surf League (WSL) Tahiti Pro last year and is a favourite to medal at the Paris Games.

One of the most highly anticipated matchups is heat four of the women’s opening round draw with Molly to face Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb and Caitlin Simmers (USA).

Sport format

Surfing is scored by a panel of judges, who measure a surfer’s ride by analysing the degree of difficulty, level of innovation and the number and intricacy of manoeuvres performed on each ride. 

Each surfer is free to catch as many waves as they can within the allotted time and their two highest scores are totalled to calculate his or her final score. 

The winner is the person who scores the most points. The winner advances to the next round and the loser is eliminated.

The 24 athletes in each gender will progress through initial and main rounds. The initial rounds will have four and five-person heats, with the main rounds then having two-person heats. 

Given the dependence on catching waves in natural surf conditions, the ability of a competitor to read and adapt to the conditions is crucial to their success. The length of a heat is normally 30 minutes.

Competition schedule

The first round of competition begins 28 July at 3:00am (AEST). Finals will begin 31 July at 9:00am (AEST) pending weather and surf conditions throughout the tournament.