As Paris continues warming up for the Olympics, a small contingent of the 2024 Summer Games competitors will be jetting down to Tahiti to prepare for a wholly different class of competition. For the second-ever Olympic surf competition, competitors from all over the world will converge on this small Polynesian island to tackle world-class waves in an area steeped in surf mythology.
While, of course, there are plenty of viable surf locations much nearer to Paris throughout France and Europe, the conditions at Teahupo’o, a small corner of the Southwest Tahiti Iti peninsula, offer surfers and viewers alike a truly incomparable experience.
Clocking in at 20 feet, the wave at Teahupo’o is far from the world’s tallest. Instead, it’s the wave’s impressive weight that brings the challenge. Teahupo’o is formed over the top of sharp, steep coral, which causes it to rise up sharply and crash with massive force. It is propelled by a heavy surge of water which can seem to rise up from nowhere before crashing down around the barrel.
The intensity is epic – epic enough that Teahupo’o is even known in the PWC world as the location of one of the most infamous tow-in crashes in PWC and surfing history. As reported in 2016 by The Watercraft Journal, 2005 saw a huge influx of surfers to Tahiti as record swells amped up the action at the already-challenging Teahupo’o site, and an inexperienced PWC rider ended up towing a surfer buddy out into the chop. And that’s when things went sideways.
“There was big chop on the waves and it was a little stormy on that crazy day in May. This was definitely no place for a dude with no driving skills to attempt towing a surfer into a wave,” reports stated. “Bastolaer almost paid the ultimate price for their actions. The ski that McIntosh was steering was literally picked up by a thick heaving wave. He bailed off the back after losing control, leaving the jet ski alone in the surf. That’s when the riderless machine tumbled precisely over Bastolaer’s head while both were within the confines of a massive barreling wave. It’s amazing that he wasn’t hit by the ski and came out unscathed. We aren’t so sure about the watercraft though.”
You can check out the video of the crash – one that hopefully will not be repeated as Teahupo’o continues to prepare for the Olympic Surf Competition – one that is drawing more and more interest from not only fans of the Olympic competitions, but surfers and sport aficionados as word of Teahupo’os reputation and history gains momentum.
Apart from its strength, Teahupo’o draws in surfers with its rich history as well. The wave is found on the island of Tahiti in Polynesia, where surf originated in the 12th century as a sport for the island’s royalty. As for the Teahupo’o wave itself, the first recorded surfer here was a woman from the island of Raiatea in the 19th century. Many years later, in the 1980s and 90s, professional surfers returned to the area to tackle what many consider to be the world’s toughest wave.
The Olympics may bring a major draw to the surf opportunities in this remote part of the island, but for those who call Tahiti Iti home, along with those who have been making the trek to surf this wave for years, Teahupo’o’s draw goes beyond the adrenaline and hype. To hear those who have visited talk about the undeveloped shorelines–where they’d lay back and delight in Hinano beer, poisson cru, homemade jams, and chili oils–is to hear them talk of a paradise. They speak of the Mana, the Polynesian word for the spiritual energy which envelops this land.
Because of this, there will be considerations to ensure the ecological sanctity of the area, both before and after the Olympics. Olympians will be housed on boats offshore, to protect the reef and negate the need for development in the area. Islanders have already made strong opposition to the construction of a judge’s tower on the reef.
As July 27 approaches, be sure to keep an eye out for the epic water sports that will take place at Teahupo’o, to get a view of the sheer might of the ocean at one of her most legendary frontiers.
As the Olympics come closer, be sure to read Jen Murphy’s full write-up for Robb Report on her experiences and conversations with locals in Teahupo’o.
