Paris 2024 surfing: All men’s results, as France's Kauli Vaast wins gold in a storybook ending for Teahupo’o local

France’s Kauli Vaast — the local Tahitian surfer who grew up around these waves — charged into a barreling Teahupo'o surf on Monday, 5 August, to win the gold medal in men's surfing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The 22-year-old Vaast, with a score of 17.67, got the better of Australia’s Jack Robinson in the final, who took silver with a score of 7.83. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina took the bronze medal with a 15.54, improving on his fourth-place finish at Tokyo 2020.

It capped a stunning day for the host nation in French Polynesia, where Teahupo'o is located on the island of Tahiti, as Vaast's compatriot Johanne Defay won bronze in the women's competition.

Vaast, the local hero from the end of the road in Teahupo’o, won surfing gold with just two waves in the 30-minute final, while Robinson surfed just one.

As the men’s gold medal final got underway, the air filled with cheers from the boats in the channel as the much-anticipated swell seemed to be finally arriving and the sun broke through the clouds. It looked like this would be the epic Teahupo’o barrel-riding final for which everyone had hoped.

And it was ... for one set. Vaast dropped in deep on the first wave, pumping his way through a massive frontside barrel, finding his way out and flexing to claim his 9.5 top-scoring wave. Robinson followed with a backside tube that didn’t quite match the depth and length of Vaast’s wave, for a score of 7.83. Vaast followed with a second-barrel wave score of 8.17.

And that was it. Just as quickly as the waves switched on, they switched off. A lull set in, and no additional waves of any significance rolled through. As the clock ticked down on the final heat, the crowds came alive, counting the final seconds—“3-2-1”—as Vaast’s gold-medal win became a reality at Teahupo’o.

"It's something special for me to win the Olympics at home on the best wave in the world with the best waves," Vaast told Olympics.com.

Asked what contributed to his victory, Vaast said: "I had a great connection since the beginning of the contest. A lot of work, a lot of time spent in the water in [all] conditions. It was long and hard, but I kept going, never giving up and it paid off. And then [I was] lucky to finally get the rhythm into a big contest like this and to have the best mana. That's how we got here — the good spirit, the energy that all the Polynesian people give to me. I could feel it, and it was something special. It's just insane. Best day of my life."

Following the awards ceremony, Robinson reflected on what had just happened. "It's super special to be here and to have that moment. It's a life's work, this whole journey just to get here," he said. "Standing up there, I had the tingles looking around, watching the flags get raised up, that's special."

Robinson was delighted with his silver medal, even if it wasn't what he came to Teahupo'o seeking.

"Of course any competitor, you always want to go to the number one spot, but at that point, it didn't matter," he said. "I know it's the goal, but I almost didn't get to surf the event. I was almost out of the event by that much because of the injury I had. And so that kind of brought me back to not take it for granted. I'll probably get two more Olympics to go to again and I get to go for a world title out there again. The train keeps rolling."

The water safety lifeguards on their jet skis broke out in tears of pride for Vaast, their local boy, and those in the boats in the channel erupted into cheers and whistles with hands and flags waving in the air.

Vaast was encircled by a flotilla of boats and jet skis as he made his way onshore. The French team coach and ultimate hype man, Jeremy Flores, a hero of Vaast’s, celebrated exuberantly on the sled behind Vaast’s jet ski — an iconic moment to mark the end of the second Olympic men’s surfing competition.

Earlier, the men's bronze-medal match pitted Medina against Peru’s Alonso Correa. Medina redeemed his semi-final heat against Robinson, which saw him unable to post a second-wave score, by putting on an absolute demo. The goofy-footer was the definition of high performance, winning with a pair of 7.77's, one earned courtesy of the day's most impressive tube to date and the other with a wave that featured four consecutive turns, each one different from the next but all of them undeniably committed and progressive, to finish with a 15.54. Correa finished in fourth place with a score of 12.43.

The bronze medallist came ashore proudly flying his Brazilian flag, greeted by cheering fans and by family, including his father Charlie, who was clearly proud to see his son, a three-time world champion, earn his first Olympic medal.

“I’m so happy to get the bronze medal. That was my goal coming here, to get a medal in Tokyo was really close and this year I had another chance and I just wanted it really bad, so I gave my all in the semi-final," Medina said to Olympics.com after his bronze-medal performance. "That time in Tokyo was close. I was sad I didn’t get a medal when I had two opportunities that day, and today I was thinking about it, and I was like, no, this is my time — I’m taking the medal."

The surfer, who gained notoriety during these Olympic Games thanks to an epic kick-out photo, said: "I’m really happy with my medal. I’m happy to make my family, my friends and all of my country proud of me."

Surfing: men’s podium

Gold Kauli Vaast FRA
Silver Jack Robinson AUS
Bronze Gabriel Medina (BRA)

See all the results on Olympics.com