A unique opportunity to showcase Polynesian sport and culture
Two Tricolores are still in the running, in both the men's and women's events: Polynesian Kauli Vaast and Reunion's Johanne Defay. They have both qualified for the semi-finals of the competition after beating other French competitors.
Weather permitting, they'll be back on La Vague tahitienne, aiming to win more medals for the French delegation. This would be a first for the sport, which has been included in the TOKYO 2020 Olympic Games program.
The Tahitian of the French team knows the place and the Teahupo'o wave well, as he's playing at home. He is due to face Peru's Alonso Correa and possibly Brazil's Gabriel Médina in the final. The latter is a three-time World Champion and has been made world-famous thanks to a photo in which he appears to be flying over the water like a Super Hero.
The Frenchwoman Johanne Defay will first have to get past the reigning Olympic Champion, American Carissa Moore, and should meet up with another American, Caroline Marks.
Will the surfing event allow France to continue its success story?
Highly-anticipated face-offs on the Tahiti peninsula, but also in France and all the Polynesian islands. The semi-finals, the finals for third place and the two finals for Gold.
Answer from 11:00 pm (Paris Time) ... This relocated competition at the end of the road, in Teahupo'o, i.e. more than 18,000 km from the Olympic Games Host City, could do useful work for this 2024 edition.
It could also, who knows, attract surfers and tourists from all over the world in the years to come, as Teahupo'o is a unique and preserved natural site, an iconic and spectacular wave... the Cradle of Surfing practiced in Polynesia for several hundred years.
Let's hope that Mother Nature will issue a Permit to Play today!
Article written by Phil Fogg
