The highly anticipated opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, across Tahiti, French Polynesia, surfers, residents and Olympic officials are preparing for the Paris Olympics and the start of the surfing events.
An International Surfing Association official said competitors could expect good waves at the reef break at Tchaiupoo starting this weekend.
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Surfers train ahead of the surfing competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Te Aupō, Tahiti, on July 23. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
These circumstances could have a positive impact on the decision to hold a surfing competition more than 9,000 miles away from the host city.
“So we were trying to prepare for a wave that we didn’t know when it would come,” ISA president Fernando Aguerre said. “We didn’t know if the IOC would be able to withstand it, but we looked at many options for that and it was clear that staying in Europe, in France, would probably mean disaster for the wave.”
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Throughout the week, competitors could be seen paddling out onto the world-famous waves of Te Aupō, Tahiti, before sunrise to take advantage of exclusive access to the location for pre-competition training.
Training sessions over the next few days before the Olympics will give competitors the chance to familiarise themselves with, or reacquaint themselves with, the island’s unique waves, some of the biggest in the world, and many of the surfers competing in Paris have previously ridden the waves at Choupo.
Japan’s Reo Inaba surfs during a training day for the surfing competition at the Summer Olympics in Te Aupō, Tahiti, on July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The forecast for Te Aupó predicts good conditions will continue until August 5. Meanwhile, beaches around Hossegor, one of France’s top surfing spots, are set to see fair to poor conditions, according to data from Surfline.com.
“The IOC and the Olympic Committee understood the challenges of running OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Service) here instead of on the beaches near Paris, but I am convinced the rewards will be enormous,” Aguerre added.
“We know the waves will be great on Saturday and Sunday. They’re not the big, scary chopos, but they’re really nice, quality waves so we’re going to see some great performances.”
Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi surfs during a training day for the surfing competition at the Summer Olympics in Te Aupō, Tahiti, on July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Surfing will return closer to home in 2028, when Los Angeles hosts its third Summer Olympics, and Aguerre suggested surfers could compete at Huntington Beach or Tres Tres, near San Clemente, four years from now.
“But I’m not going to criticise the organisers. We’ve assessed the pros and cons of each and they’re both great, so it’s going to be a good move.”
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Other preparations for this year’s Games are also taking place at sea, including the first-ever floating Olympic village where some athletes will stay and an Olympic Judgment Tower jutting out of the sea that drew criticism from environmental groups and was later scaled back by the Olympic committee.
In Te Aupo, residents have spent the windy days clearing trash and debris from the seafront promenade, extending opening hours, installing homemade ramps on dirt roads and putting up gentle signs warning visitors to be careful – all to prepare their town for the influx of new people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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