Paris 2024 Surfing finals: Preview, full schedule, and how to watch the medal events at Teahupo’o
After a thrilling week of surfing in Tahiti, it has all come down to this. Finals day.
A day of fierce semi-final match-ups and then the ultimate showdown in the grand finals to see which woman and man will take home Paris 2024 Olympic gold for their country.
Six new Olympic medallists will take home silverware, with none of the podium finishers from Tokyo 2020 making the semi-finals in Teahupo’o.
It has been a remarkable competition so far, which has seen pictures of Gabriel Medina go globally viral and women smashing the glass ceiling for what can be done in surfing - the sport has been taken to new heights. The challenge, as with every surfing event, is for those in decision-making positions to diligently assess when the best conditions will be on offer at Teahupo’o so the event can sign off in stunning fashion.
Finals day is set to take place on Monday, 5 August - 7 a.m. local time/7 p.m. CET.
As was the case at surfing's Olympic debut, the men contest their medals first, followed by the women who will have the final heat of the day.
Running order (all times CET):
7 p.m. Men’s semi-finals
8:12 p.m. Women’s semi-finals
9:24 p.m. Men’s bronze medal
10 p.m. Men’s gold medal
10:36 p.m. Women’s bronze Medal
11:12 p.m. Women’s gold medal
The major match-ups
The final day of action presents many different storylines with a mix of both underdogs and favourites.
The first semi-final to hit the water will be Tahiti’s own Kauli Vaast against Peru’s Alonso Correa. The local surfer is eager to cement his place in history for his proud French Polynesian Island. Every time he finishes a heat, and the jet ski does a drive by the fan zone, the noise of cheers and clapping erupts and echoes around the area.
“I feel good, I’ve got good boards. Super-stoked to be into the next one. I will keep the routine, keep the momentum and try to enjoy, even more,” Vaast told Olympics.com after qualifying for the final six men.
There’s no doubt Vaast has the upper hand in terms of local break knowledge and experience. He has been surfing the heavy Teahupo’o break since he was eight years old. As far as time in the water goes at this unique spot, Vaast is undeniably in the front seat. Big waves like the swell we saw in men’s round three would be no challenge for the 22-year-old, but it’s unlikely to be that large for finals day.
His Peruvian opponent also won’t be going down without a fight. Correa has a mighty challenge on his hand but he will have gained confidence in his performances thought the week, having already eliminated Olympic silver medallist Kanoa Igarashi and two-time world champion Filipe Toledo.
The plucky 26-year-old can win in various conditions and will be pulling out all the stops to get past Vaast.
Gabriel Medina is a man on a mission
Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina will face Australia’s Jack Robinson in what some may be wishing was the gold medal clash.
Medina is a man on a mission, telling Olympics.com: “Before coming to this contest, I had one goal. I don’t know what the future looks like but I’m feeling good. I’m feeling confident because I know the hard work I did, and I think I deserve the medal so I’m trying to get it. Just inside me I feel it’s something that I deserve because I know what I did to come here.”
Medina has a long history in Tahiti, second behind 10-time world champion Kelly Slater in success at Teahupo’o. He won the WSL Tahiti Pro in 2014 and 2018, and has four runner-up finishes in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023. He also finished third in 2016 and 2024.
Robinson is equally adept in the barrelling conditions of the iconic Tahitian wave.
The 2023 Tahiti Pro winner he doesn’t have the long history that Medina has but has had a shorter amount of time on the WSL Tour. Robinson’s ability to perform under pressure and adapt to all conditions makes the Aussie a true threat.
Caroline Marks looking to make her mark
On the women’s side of the competition - reigning world champion Caroline Marks will be looking to fly her home nation’s flag and keep Olympic gold in the USA by following in the footsteps of Carissa Moore, who won the sports inaugural gold.
The 22-year-old finished fourth at the last Olympics and, after stepping away from the sport to look after her health and well-being, has had a meteoric rise.
“The time away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but, looking back, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my mental health and my surfing and just for my life overall. If you don’t have your mental health all there then you can’t really perform and you can’t really enjoy it,” Marks told Olympics.com.
“I feel like since the last Olympics I’ve made a lot of personal growth and I’m really proud of that and having so much fun surfing.”
Standing in her way of the gold medal final is France’s Johanne Defay. Some may say the 30-year-old has gone under the radar in the lead-up to this event given the hype around Moore and local star Vahine Fierro who in May won the Tahiti Pro in pumping conditions.
The reality is that Defay is an accomplished surfer who has seen all sorts of conditions and heat challenges giving her the experience to eliminate both Moore and Fierro on her way to the semis. Defay has been a WSL Championship Tour surfer for 10 years and shows grit and stamina in abundance. Four stitches in her forehead after round 1 is no qualm for Defay, who is on a quest to shine in her home nation’s Olympics.
Will Tatiana Weston-Webb reach perfection again?
Brazil’s second medal hope is Tatiana Weston-Webb, who will come up against Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica. Weston-Webb scored the first-ever perfect 10 by a woman in the Tahiti Pro just three months ago. She will no doubt be looking to draw on that performance to make history again. The Brazilian has an impressive skillset and is hard to be beat when she is in a flow state.
“I love competing, I love being an athlete, I love being under pressure, but I know that we can be really hard on ourselves and sometimes we deserve a little bit of just grace and understanding towards ourselves as well. I feel really proud of myself because I made it this far and I want to keep fighting and I know that I have a lot of fight left in me, so I’m really excited,” she told Olympics.com.
Hennessy will be looking to stamp her mark and make history of a different kind. Costa Rica has only won four medals in Olympic history and the 24-year-old would love to add to that legacy.
“Everything leads up to a big moment like this, I think I’m taking a lot out of these performances and in those moments when it’s hard, it’s important to have a strong mind,” she said.
“At times you have to win ugly - and that quarter-final wasn’t very pretty out there for me - but that’s the name of the game. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions but you’re supposed to ride it through.”
How to watch surfing live at Paris 2024
All the action from Paris 2024, including surfing, can be watched via media rights holders (MRHs).
MRHs include Nine in Australia, Globo in Brazil, CBC in Canada, CCTV in People's Republic of China, Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo in Japan, SKY NZ in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa, NBC in the United States, and Discovery Eurosport across Europe, alongside France Télévisions in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany, and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom, among others.
Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.