The Paris 2024 Olympic Games represent a unique opportunity for sports enthusiasts, as well as those wishing to discover this world, to take part in a major sporting celebration lasting several weeks. This competition is arousing both enthusiasm and apprehension among the French, and promises to be particularly spectacular.
In 2024, four sports will be added to the more traditional disciplines of the Olympic Games, and Sortir à Paris invites you to find out more about them, so you can understand everything on D-day! Every month, we'll be bringing you a little-known sport from the general public, right up to the deadline in July 2024. Today, we're taking a closer look at surfing, an exceptional water sport that originated in the islands.
Paris 2024 Olympics: On which channel and at what time to watch the surfing finals on TV?
Want to discover the world's best surfers at these Paris 2024 Olympic Games? Here's the schedule of planned broadcasts during these Olympics, the channels and times to follow the latest events and surfing finals live on TV, and from Tahiti! [Read more]
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will bring together athletes from the four corners of the planet! Discover those who have distinguished themselves in surfing, this essential board sport, with gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as any French success stories. [Read more]
Surfing is an ancestral practice that originated in Polynesia, particularly Hawaii, as far back as the 15th century. Polynesian surfers used solid wooden boards carved from native trees such as koa or wiliwili, and practiced"he'e nalu", which means"to glide over the waves". Over the centuries, surfing spread throughout the world, and champions helped popularize the sport by organizing demonstrations around the globe. New types of boards have also helped make surfing more accessible to the general public.
In the 1950s and 1960s, surfing became a symbol of American youth culture, then a competitive sport with the organization of numerous championships around the world, such as the World Surf League Championship, which attracts professional surfers to many of the world's coastal regions. In competition, surfers perform maneuvers and tricks on the waves, scored by judges according to their variety, the type of trick performed and its difficulty, as well as the surfer's speed, power and flow.
As early as the 1920s, some people were campaigning for surfing to be included in the Olympic program, such as Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian athlete and three-time Olympic freestyle champion, and one of the pioneers of world surfing. However, it was not until the Tokyo 2021 Games that surfing made its first appearance as an additional sport. It will be present for the second time at Paris 2024, when Tahiti and its mythical Teahupo'o spot have been chosen to host the events, in order to associate overseas France with the competition.
For Paris 2024, 48 athletes will be selected: 24 women and 24 men, with a maximum of 6 per country. As host country, France automatically receives two places. 18 athletes will qualify via the WSL CT 2023 ranking, 10 following the ISA World Surfing Games 2023 and the Pan-American Games 2023, and 12 at the ISA World Surfing Games 2024. Japan and the USA already secured their first quotas last year in Huntington Beach.
The Americans, Australians, Hawaiians and Brazilians, who have been well placed in the rankings for several decades, should be particularly wary. On the French side, we can expect to see the excellent Johanne Defay shine, who has already qualified. Vahine Fierro, Pauline Ado and Tessa Thyssen also have a good chance. On the men's side, Jérémy Florès and Michel Bourez have given way to the new generation, so Tim Bisso, Gatien Delahaye, Mihimana Braye and Maxime Huscenot are all to be reckoned with.
Where to surf in Paris and Ile-de-France ? The rare spots where to find waves
From the Paris area, it's difficult to surf on very big waves, the capital being a few hours away from the sea. But some spots propose you to learn how to surf, thanks to static waves ! [Read more]
Thursday, August 1st
Friday, August 2nd
Dates and Opening Time
From July 27, 2024 to August 2, 2024
Paris 2024 Olympics: On which channel and at what time to watch the surfing finals on TV?
Paris 2024 Olympics: who are the medal-winning surf athletes? Global summary
