Jack Robinson has claimed Australia’s best-ever result in Olympic surfing, a silver medal, after falling to local Kauli Vaast in the gold medal match in Tahiti.
The Margaret River-raised surfer beat Gabriel Medina of Brazil earlier on Tuesday (AEST) to claim a place in showpiece final.
But he fell 17.67 to 7.83 in the decider to Vaast, who grew up kilometres from Teahupo’o, first riding the infamous break at age eight.
Vaast’s victory was richly celebrated in French Polynesia, hosting the Olympic surfing around 15,700 kilometres from Paris.
“I don’t really realize it, but I just made history,” said Vaast. “I can’t be prouder to represent Tahiti and France at home.”
In calmer conditions than earlier in the tournament, Vaast used local knowledge to uncover the best waves, surfing two long barrels in two minutes which scored a mighty 9.50 and 8.17.
Robinson, who replied with a 7.83 barrel run of his own, had 25 minutes of the final to reel in the 22-year-old.
Needing a 9.84 ride to overtake Vaast, nature was not on his side as Robinson couldn’t find a wave even worthy of an attempt.
“I just needed one shot,” Robinson said.
“The most difficult thing was working with mother nature … I was just waiting on the ocean to proivide me with one shot.”
Still, the Western Australian declared himself “rapt” with silver, as he should be.
Earlier in the competition, he produced the one of the highest-scoring waves of the Olympics – 9.87 – before knocking out world No.1 John John Florence in the round-of-16.
Robinson also defeated countryman Ethan Ewing in an all-Aussie quarter-final.
The silver improves on Owen Wright’s bronze in the discipline’s first Olympic outing, in Tokyo.
Medina, the three-time world champion, recovered to win bronze in Tahiti, three years after losing to Wright in the Tokyo bronze medal match.
After three frustrating lay days, competitors returned to the water on Tuesday, the final day of the 10-day window allotted for surfing.
With no other option, organisers began semi-finals in waves under 2m, with surfers needing to make the best of it.
Waiting for waves, Robinson and Medina dueled for position in the sea, paddling furiously alongside each other in search of an optimal spot.
Robinson scored 7.83 from a deep barrel run in an overall score of 12.83.
The Brazilian goofy-footer, sitting on 6.33 from a four-turn move, was caught in the same predicament as Robinson in the final, watching time run out waiting for a decent break.
American Caroline Marks, the reigning World Surf League champion, claimed gold in a more dramatic women’s decider with Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb.
Both surfers were stuck below one point at the half-way mark before the waves rolled in.
Marks led 10.50 to 7.63 until the final minute when Weston-Webb caught a wave and carved turns all the way onto the shallow reef.
The hooter sounded and both competitors bobbed in the ocean waiting for the wave to be scored, when Marks learned she had won gold by just 0.17.
Marks was lucky to be in the final after tying with France’s Johanne Defay on 12.17 in their semi, progressing only on countback as she rode the best wave of the heat.
Brisa Hennessy blew her semi-final shot after taking the same wave as Weston-Webb when the Brazilian had priority, handing the Costa Rican a penalty.
Defay recovered from her semi-final to defeat Hennessy for bronze.
Both Australian women’s hopes were eliminated earlier in the competition, with Molly Picklum losing to Defay in round two, and Tyler Wright defeated by Marks in the quarter-finals.
– AAP
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