Surfing at Paris 2024: Six surfers to watch
Surfing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place at the famous wave Teahupo’o in Tahiti, where a star-studded list of athletes will go head-to-head in a quest for Olympic glory.
Reigning Olympic champion Carissa Moore is returning to attempt to defend her title at what might be her last Games, while youngsters Caity Simmers and Molly Picklum will also be athletes you won't want to take your eyes off. Reigning world champion Caroline Marks will aim to better her fourth-place finish in Tokyo, and her recent performances suggest she in good shape to do so.
While Italo Ferreira, Tokyo 2020 champion, will not be amongst the men competing, Brazil will send a strong roster that includes Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and João Chianca. They will have some tough competition, though, as the U.S. and Australia will also head to Tahiti with stacked rosters of top-ranked athletes to compete on the wave dubbed ‘The End of the Road.’
The surfing competition kicks off in just over one month on 27 July and is primed to be one for the ages. Here are three men and three women to watch in action.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Carissa Moore of Team United States celebrates winning the Olympic Gold Medal at Tokyo 2020 at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach on July 27, 2021.
Gabriel Medina - Brazil
Gabriel Medina barely missed the podium in Tokyo to take fourth place but less than two months later, he rose to the very top to take the world title.
As he gears up for his second Olympic Games, the surfer has been very clear about what he has his sights set on, telling Olympics.com: “I have no secrets about this. Being an Olympic medallist is my goal and I’m going to do everything I can to achieve that.” The statement came after he won the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games and obtained a third Olympic quota for Brazil’s men’s team.
Johanne Defay - France
Growing up in the sharky waters of Reunion Island, French surfer Johanne Defay is set to be a hometown favourite at Paris 2024.
Defay took third place at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico and is set to make her Olympic debut in Paris. She is known to be a down-to-earth athlete, who at 19 years old, lost her primary sponsor and turned to crowdfunding to keep her dreams alive. She will now be aiming for the top step on the podium at Paris 2024.
Johanne Defay of France jumps into the ocean on August 07, 2023 at Teahupo'o, French Polynesia - the Paris 2024 surfing venue.
John John Florence - USA
One of the most well-known (and well-loved) surfers preparing to compete at Paris 2024 is Hawaii’s two-time world champion John John Florence.
Growing up with the infamous wave called Pipeline in his backyard, Florence is known as one of the most dominant surfers of his era. At Tokyo 2020, he finished tied for ninth place but will return for his second Games with hopes of landing on the podium.
Brisa Hennessy - Costa Rica
Costa Rica have only ever won a single gold Olympic medal in their history. However, Brisa Hennessy will attempt to double that number at Paris 2024.
Hennesy has won the ISA World Surfing Games twice and was the only Costa Rican to compete when surfing made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. The 24-year-old spent the first eight years of her life off-the-grid in Costa Rica without electricity and surrounded by the jungle and the ocean. This is where her love of surfing began. However, her passion for the sport blossomed when she moved to Hawaii at the age of eight and her dreams of becoming a world-class competitive surfer began to take shape. After finishing tied for fifth place in Tokyo, Hennessy will be hoping for more in Paris.
John John Florence of the United States surfs French Polynesia's Teahupo'o on August 09, 2023.
Jack Robinson - Australia
Australia's Jack Robinson is definitely one to watch as surfers take to the Olympic stage in Tahiti.
Often considered one of the best barrel riders of today, Robinson was named Surfer of the Year in 2020 and 2021 at the Australian Surfing Awards. At just seven years old, Robinson realised that surfing could be a lifelong career, saying in an interview that it was specifically when "I did a reverse, spun around and did a full 360 and went, 'Oh, that was pretty good!'”
Tatiana Weston-Webb - Brazil
Two-time ISA World Surfing Games champion Tatiana Weston-Webb is preparing for her second appearance at the Olympics.
Weston-Webb obtained her Olympic quota with victory at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where reports forecasted triple-overhead waves for the event.
Can she turn Pan American gold into Olympic hardware? The world only has one month to wait until they find out.