Picklum and Chianca secure provisional Olympic quotas, while Robinson and Marks triumph on Teahupo'o wave one year before Paris 2024
One female quota spot for Paris remains to be awarded based on the World Surf League rankings, and will be decided between USA's Caroline Marks and Caitlin Simmers at the WSL Finals from 8 to 16 September.
Surfing
Australia’s Molly Picklum and Brazil’s Joao Chianca secured Paris 2024 quotas through their World Surf League (WSL) season ranking, after the finals day of Tahiti Pro 2023.
Picklum advanced to the quarter-finals at Tahiti Pro to ensure she can finish no lower than fourth place in the world rankings when the season ends. Chianca dropped out in the elimination round, but his earlier results in the 2023 campaign helped him to finish among the top two male surfers from Brazil.
If Picklum and Chianca's provisional places at Paris 2024 are confirmed for the Australian and Brazil delegations, it would mark an Olympic debut for both surfers.
A total of 10 men's quotas were available through the World Surf League's Championship Tour in the 2023 season. Chianca joins fellow Brazilian Filipe Toledo, USA's Griffin Colapinto and John John Florence, Australia's Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson, Italy's Leonardo Fioravanti, South Africa's Jordy Smith and Matthew McGillivray, and Japan's Kanoa Igarashi who had all obtained provisional quotas earlier.
On the women’s side, eight spots were available through the WSL with USA's Olympic champion Carissa Moore, Australia’s Tyler Wright, Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, France’s Johanne Defay, Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy and Portugal’s Teresa Bonvalot making the list.
National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, therefore athletes' participation at Paris 2024 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation.
Marks and Robinson win Tahiti Pro
One more female quota for Paris 2024 – to go to USA’s Caroline Marks or Caitlin Simmers – will be decided at the Rip Curl WSL Finals, which take place in Lower Trestles, California from 8 to 16 September. The two athletes go into the finals as the world No.3 and 5 seeds, respectively.
Marks beat Simmers in the final at Tahiti Pro, scoring 9.23 points to Simmers' 3.94, to secure her career's first victory on the famous Teahupo'o wave. She finished fifth last season when Tahiti Pro was re-introduced to the women's Championship Tour calendar for the first time since 2006.
Championship Tour rookie Simmers was competing at Tahiti Pro for the first time.
In the men's competition, Jack Robinson followed up on his earlier success of securing a provisional Paris 2024 quota with a narrow win over three-time world champion Gabriel Medina in the final.
With less than one year to go until the Paris 2024 surfing competition is held on the Teahupo'o wave, Tahiti Pro was a curtain raiser to highlight the top medal contenders. Dominatn on the wave from the first rounds, Medina fell just short of Robinson's 15.66 score.
While a win would have earned Medina a spot among the final five and provisional Olympic quota, the Brazilian star is now at risk of missing the Olympic Games unless Brazil wins an extra, third men's quota through the 2024 World Surfing Games.