Paris Olympics 2024: Surfing - history, rules, defending champions

One of the most popular activities across the world in nations that have access to a coastline, surfing essentially involves riding waves in the sea by standing or lying down on a board. The extreme sport is believed to have originated in Hawaii and Polynesia, where it was practised by men and women across all social strata.

It was during Hawaii’s rise as a tourist destination in the early 20th century that the activity underwent a revival and quickly spready to California in the mainland along with other nations such as Australia. Surfing would later turn professional in 1953 when the Waikiki Surf Club Makaha, Hawaii hosted the first international championships for men and women.

What are the rules?

Surfers perform a variety of manoeuvres and tricks on a wave, with five judges scoring their performance on the basis of variety, type and difficulty of their performances. Surfers are also judged on their speed and power as well as their ability to connect from one wave to another.

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Shortboards are used for Olympic surfing events as they are faster and athletes can perform more manoeuvres on them.

What is surfing’s history at Olympics?

Surfing was among the several sports introduced into the Olympic fold for the first time in the 2020 Tokyo Games, the others being karate, sport climbing and skateboarding. Surfing has also been retained for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the event will be expected to be held a lot closer to the host city than what is the case in the Paris Games.

Who triumphed at the Tokyo Olympics?

Men:

🥇: Italo Ferreira, Brazil

🥈: Kanoa Igarashi, Japan

🥉: Owen Wright, Australia

Women:

🥇: Carissa Moore, United States.

🥈: Bianca Buitendag, South Africa

🥉: Amuro Tsuzuki, Japan

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Who are the athletes to watch in surfing?

Carissa Moore, United States: The Olympic and five-time world champion has announced she’s stepping away from top-tier competitive surfing after the Paris Games. She won the first Olympic gold medal awarded in women’s shortboard at Tokyo three years ago. The 31-year-old, Hawaii-born Moore is widely regarded as one of the greatest female surfers of all time.

Vahine Fierro, France: The Tahiti-born surfer will be competing just 200 kilometers (125 miles) from her hometown in French Polynesia. Having won the Tahiti Pro last month on the wave — called Teahupo’o— Fierro gives host nation France hopes of clinching a medal this year.

Filipe Toledo, Brazil: The two-time World Surf League champion qualified to participate in the Games this year but after a poor showing at a competition Toledo posted on social media that he’d be stepping back from the rest of the 2024 Championship Tour season. The good news is, Toledo’s manager confirmed to The Associated Press that the 29-year-old Brazilian surfer will participate in the Olympics.

Jack Robinson, Australia: Winner of the 2023 World Surf League competition at Teahupo’o, Robinson is considered one of the world’s best barrel riders. This could play to his advantage as the wave is widely considered one of the world’s heaviest barrels.

What is the venue for surfing at Paris Olympics?

The surfing event will take place in Teahupo’o, Tahiti — more than 15,715 kilometers (9,765 miles) from Paris. The event thus breaks the record for the farthest Olympic medal competition to be staged outside of the host city.

When will surfing take place at Paris Olympics?

The surfing event will take place over a period of four days in the window between 27 July and 8 August, in which the exact dates will be dependent on the weather conditions.