From living with dyslexia to tackling a "gobsmacking" wave, surfer Saffi Vette knows that grit pays off
The New Zealand surfer has faced plenty of adversity in her life, from a dyslexia diagnosis in school to the loss of a parent. But those experiences have made her stronger and more hungry to live life to the full.
Some of Saffi Vette’s best and worst surfing memories took place on the same beach.
Competing in Surf City El Salvador in 2021, the New Zealand surfer narrowly missed out on qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Returning to the spot exactly three years later, she made the cut for Paris 2024*.
When asked what it means to be an Olympian, Vette did not skip a beat.
“Courage, for sure,” she told Olympics.com. “It takes a lot of courage to be an Olympian.”
Those words ring true for the 22-year-old surfer who not only overcame setbacks on the road to qualifying for the Olympic Games, but also in life out of the water including losing her father to cancer and being diagnosed with dyslexia.
In the next test of character, Vette will face one of the biggest waves in the world and - true to her nature - she is ready to take on the challenge.
*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.
From boogie boards to surfboards: A father’s gift that changed Saffi Vette’s life
Saffi Vette has never known life without the ocean.
Her father Andrew Vette was a competitive surfer and taught her mother Vanessa to stand on a board as well. When starting a family, the pair settled across from a beach to make sure they did not miss any good waves.
“It definitely runs in the family,” their daughter said about her love for surfing. “We've been immersed in the ocean ever since we were super, super young. Friends and family have always loved the ocean, so we've never been without it. We're so lucky, so, so lucky. I wouldn't change it for the world.”
Vette can trace her own evolution in surfing through the presents she received for Christmas.
One of the earliest gifts she can remember are a pair of boogie boards for her and younger brother Finn. Not content to hold onto the boards and splash with their legs, the children soon attempted to stand up on them instead.
The following Christmas, the boogie boards were upgraded to foam surfboards.
“We've been hooked ever since,” Vette said. “Being pushed in by my dad out front of our house was probably my earliest childhood memory and it stuck with me forever, and I cherish it every day.”
Her father, a surf hero in their hometown of Makorori, would become her first teacher and later her most important mentor and coach.
When he was diagnosed with cancer, Vette stayed at home to help care for him, saying her final goodbyes in September 2020.
Four months later, she won the national championships with her father constantly in her thoughts.
“While I was out there in the water, I remembered Dad telling me I had nothing to lose and I could do anything I want,” a 19-year-old Vette told Women Magazine later. “Those words were going through my head the whole time and it made me really want to win.”
Saffi Vette’s sanctuary on the waves
While Andrew Vette did not get to watch his daughter earn a ticket to Paris 2024 at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador, her mother was overjoyed as she rushed out to embrace the young surfer.
“To have her here was super, super special,” Vette said. “She was bawling her eyes out.”
The Olympic ticket was a long-time dream for Vette who grew up watching and admiring Olympians on television.
When it came time to decide what her own Olympic journey could look like, however, Vette took a gamble.
She participated and excelled in a variety of sports in school. Athletics and rugby were among her passions, yet she opted to pursue surfing without knowing if it would ever become an Olympic sport.
Surfing was more than a sport for her, Vette explained. Growing up, she struggled at school and was ultimately diagnosed with dyslexia.
Surf sessions before and after lessons helped to make those years easier.
“In some ways, it's my friend and it's my outlet,” Vette said of the ocean. “It's a place that I can go to relax and have a breather if anything's going on in my life that's hard or that's challenging me. I can go out, and I can just be in the ocean and forget everything.
“They've got a saying, 'Only a surfer knows the feeling.' It's an indescribable feeling of just relaxing and being in the moment and forgetting everything on land, and just focusing on what's in front of us and catching the wave and feeling the energy that a wave can give us.”
When surfing was included in the Olympic programme for Tokyo 2020, Vette was overjoyed.
“I had no idea surfing would ever be a possibility in the Olympics. It was such a surprise,” she said. “The Olympics is so iconic. That surfers around the globe have this unique opportunity to make the Olympics now, I think it's so special.”
Saffi Vette on tackling Teahupo'o: “I’m not going to hold back”
When Vette reached her hand out to accept the symbolic ticket to Paris 2024 last June, she had never surfed the wave that would host the next Olympic competition.
However, the New Zealander has heard enough about Teahupo'o to know that the famous wave is unlike anything she faced before.
“It's known to be treacherous and probably one of the gnarliest waves on the planet,” Vette said. “Tahiti, in general, is just a gobsmacking wave. It is so terrifying.”
Vette got to experience that terrifying power for herself when she was invited to join the International Surfing Association’s Athlete Training Camp at Teahupo'o in July. She and 10 other surfers spent a week getting familiar with the wave under the guidance of local surf legend Tereva David.
After coming out on the other side of the barrel – with a minor knee injury – Vette is more confident than ever and has a strategy ready for the upcoming Olympic competition.
“Time in the water and being in that environment and pushing yourself to be uncomfortable,” she said about what it takes to tackle Teahupo’o. “Putting yourself in an uncomfortable position really pushes you mentally and physically, so I'm really looking forward to pushing my boundaries and seeing what I've got.
“I'm not going to hold back, and I'm really excited to be in this environment and push myself to the limits.”
Before taking on Teahupo'o, Vette is set to line up at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico from 23 February to 3 March.
You can follow her in action from anywhere in the world starting on 24 February through the Olympic Channel livestreams on Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.