The ultimate vacation: How Olympic surfers are spending their time off since Paris 2024
Imagine a dream vacation, and now take it up a notch. We checked out what Olympic surfers have been up to since competing in Tahiti to discover what an ideal holiday looks like from the perspective of those who go to paradise destinations for work.
Surfing
A dream vacation. A high ideal to live up to. Even harder if your summer office happened to be an Olympic wave in Tahiti.
While their experience at Paris 2024 is hard to match, Olympic surfers are rising to the challenge and making their off-season days dazzling as well. From trips to exotic destinations, pickleball tournaments in the jungle, and skydiving, to choreographed wedding dances, these Olympians are making each day count.
Olympics.com scoped out what the surfers have been up to since the 2024 Olympic Games and pooled their activities together to make the ultimate holiday wish list.
A ticket to paradise: Surfing for fun
Surfers spend the competition season jet setting around the world with bags packed full of surfboards and gear. And for many, a holiday is no reason to stop doing what they love most.
After winning a bronze medal at Paris 2024 Gabriel Medina took off for Bali, Indonesia, to surf with fellow World Surf League competitors Cole Houshmand and Frederico Morais. The time on the island turned out to be so enjoyable that the Brazilian surfer changed the dates on his return flight.
“You know the trip is good when you change your ticket”,” Medina wrote on his Instagram page.
South Asia was a popular destination for other surfers as well, with New Zealand's Billy Stairmand and USA's Carissa Moore enjoying their time in the Maldives.
Nicaragua was another hot destination. Brazil's Filipe Toledo and El Salvador's Bryan Perez spent some days there to enjoy surf, sun, and local hangout spots.
South Africa's Matthew McGillivray and Brazil's Joao Chianca, meanwhile, opted for a more unusual surf destination. Both tested out the world’s biggest wave pool, Surf Abu Dhabi, ahead of its official late-October opening.
From oceans to the mountains: Inhale, exhale, reset
Not all Paris 2024 surfers are coveting warm water and tropical destinations, however.
France's Joan Duru set off on a camping trip into the wilderness, sleeping in a camper van with surfboards in tow, while Spain's Nadia Erostarbe cooled off by diving into mountain lakes during her trip to Switzerland with the family.
Rio Waida, who also travelled to Switzerland, went a step further and a few degrees lower as he trudged through the snowy landscape of the Alps.
“The nature here in Switzerland is on another level, felt like I’m in the heaven and felt like I’m in the dream," Indonesia's two-time Olympian wrote on Instagram. "It’s so beautiful, the most beautiful place I ever seen. I mean it’s hard to compare with ocean and beach but this place might be my number 1 place that I visited.
“The reason I came here is because I wanted to do something that I love to do, which is hiking, see the nature, see the beauty of this world, and be at somewhere there’s nobody and listen to the sound of the nature. And inhale beautiful fresh air and exhale all the bad stuff.”
Volcanos and skydiving: On the hunt for adrenaline
The Swiss trek was not Waida’s only hiking adventure since ending his WSL Championship Tour season with a milestone runner-up finish at Fiji Pro. He celebrated the achievement by climbing Bali’s highest peak, Mount Agung, less than 24 hours after returning from the South Pacific nation.
Equipped with trekking poles and a head light, Waida ascended the active volcano, which has an elevation of 3,021m, in what he later described as a real test of character.
“This was one of the hardest things I ever done, it really test mentally, physically. but I knew it’s gonna be so beautiful when I get to the top, so I had full of energy," he wrote on Instagram. "My body was giving up, my legs are dead but the excitement energy that I got, it really push me to go to the top.”
Agung is a mountain that has served as a backdrop for much of Waida's surfing sessions in Bali. On the last day of August, he reached its peak.
Like Waida, Matthew McGillivray wanted to keep his adrenaline levels high in the off-season. The South African surfer also climbed mountains and cliffs, but rather than going down on foot, he jumped off them instead.
McGillivray became passionate about skydiving in 2023 and checked another dream adventure off his list when he jumped from a cliff in Italy in September.
Unlocking the zen state via art masterpieces and fishing
While surfers are no strangers to an adrenaline rush, some opt to reserve those sensations for the competitive season and enjoy more subdued hobbies in their free time.
For Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi this meant taking a pause in Madrid, Spain, between his worldwide travels, to check out the art collection at the Museo del Prado gallery.
New Zealand's Saffi Vette picked up some golf clubs during a trip to South France, while Tyler Wright tried to get into the zen state by picking up a fishing rod – with mixed results.
“Learning how to fish but I’m also kind of scared of catching fish because then I have to touch it hahah,” the Australian surfer wrote on Instagram
More experienced in the art of catching fish, Canada’s Sanoa Olin jumped on a boat near her hometown Tofino between surf trips to partake in one of her favourite pastimes.
In karaoke or on the dance floor, these surfers got talent
While the Olympic cameras are no longer rolling, some surfers still managed to capture the spotlight thanks to their artistic talents.
Peru's Sol Aguirre mesmerised fellow surfers during a trip to Aquitaine, France as she sang a slow version of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”, while USA's Griffin Colapinto wowed the guests at his friend's wedding with some bold dance moves.
The world No.3 and six other groomsmen performed a choreographed dance to Lady Gaga’s "Poker Face" in September complete with breaking moves and footwork.
From the Costa Rican jungle to beehives in Hawaii, there is no place like home
Many surfers explored new destinations since competing at Paris 2024, but for some there was no better place to be than on the back porch of their house.
Filipe Toledo delighted his wife and kids with a surprise return home after the Olympics and then used the rare free time to give his son surf lessons.
John John Florence returned home to Hawaii to his newborn son Darwin and wife Lauryn. Fresh from winning his third world title, the USA surfer soon swapped his wetsuit for a beekeeper’s outfit and set off to catch a hive.
Meanwhile, fellow Hawaii native Carissa Moore is settling into a new rhythm since announcing her pregnancy in August. While family meals and scrapbooking have replaced competitions for the Tokyo 2020 winner and five-time world champion, Team USA's Moore is determined to keep surfing as long as she can.
“Life lately,” she captioned an Instagram post showing her pregnancy-time routine. “Somehow still able to ride my normal shortboard. Soon enough I will probably sink it but that’s okay. So enjoying the quality time with family and friends. I’ve always had other things or the next training session on my mind keeping me from being fully present at home. I’m finding my rhythm with this new pace of life and it’s pretty awesome to slow down and smell the plumerias.”
Brisa Hennessy was also smelling the flowers, quite literally, as she enjoyed her time in Costa Rica. Hiking and playing pickleball in the jungle were just some of the activities the adventurous surfer has done since competing on finals day at Paris 2024.
Peru’s Lucca Mesinas took the home hike idea further as he visited Macchu Picchu for the first time, with teammate Alonso Correa making the same journey.
Connor O’Leary also seized the opportunity to visit a sacred indigenous destination from his travel wish list. The Japanese, Australian-based surfer made a trip to Uluru with his wife Stephanie and their friends in September.
Off time is couples time
Spending time with their significant others was high up on the list for many surfers.
Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti explored Ireland with his fiancé Sophia Wilson, while other couples bonded via fun challenges.
Paris 2024 bronze medallist Johanne Defay enjoyed a pre-dawn outdoor yoga session with husband Simon Paillard. The Brazilian silver medallist Tatiana Weston-Webb, meanwhile, attempted the upside-down challenge with her husband and fellow surfer Jesse Mendes.
As endearing as those couple challenges were, it was Japan's Inaba Reo who experienced probably the most romantic moment in the off-season as he proposed to his girlfriend by the seaside and got an enthusiastic ‘yes’ in response.
Kauli Vaast: When a trip home is a trip to Tahiti
For two surfers, Tahiti natives Kauli Vaast and Vahine Fierro, going home after Paris 2024 meant going back to the venue of the Olympic Games.
Olympic champion Vaast has kept busy since returning from a whirlwind winner's welcome in Paris, which included athlete parades, media functions and even surfing in the Seine. His down time in Tahiti is relaxing in comparison: surfing, hydrofoil boarding, and evening sing-alongs.
But leave it to Vaast to get the adrenaline pumping even during his time off.
How? By surfing through a barrel while wearing his Olympic gold medal – and showing yet again that the off-season can also be a great adventure.