Under the Teahupo'o spell: Paris 2024 surfers explain what makes the Olympic venue so special
Exhilarating. Intense. Unique. Scary. Beautiful.
This is how some of the world's top surfers describe Teahupo'o in one word. Although, for an iconic spot like the venue of the Olympic surfing competition at Paris 2024, sometimes more than one word is necessary.
"Damn, I'm like, magical or terrifying," French surfer Johanne Defay told Olympics.com when asked for a short description of the infamous wave.
Located in the crystal-clear waters of the South Pacific with a lush mountain landscape in the background, Teahupo'o is a postcard of paradise. It is also one of the biggest tests for surfers.
Dubbed 'The End of the Road', Teahupo'o sees underwater mechanics, swell and winds come together to produce one of the heaviest waves in the world with a shallow coral reef adding an element of danger to the equation.
It was not until the 1980s that anyone dared to surf Teahupo'o, with the first competition staged there in the late 1990s.
What is it about Teahupo'o that gives it almost mythical status in the surfing community? Olympics.com spoke to the surfers who have taken on the wave, mastered it and fell under its spell, to find out.
A wave that "never disappoints"
For some it is bungee jumping off the Rio Grande bridge, for others zip lining through Dubai’s concrete jungle or cage diving with sharks near Guadaloupe Island.
But for surfers, there is no adrenaline rush to rival Teahupo’o.
USA star Caroline Marks took on the wave for the first time to celebrate her 18th birthday, while her teammate, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Carissa Moore, earned a trip to Tahiti as a graduation present.
“The first time I surfed Teahupo'o was my senior year," Moore recalled. "I flew here right after graduation and I felt like I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and I had no idea how to swim.
"You see it on the video footage and it’s so much more intense and scary and nothing like you ever imagined. I was really scared, didn’t get barrelled that first trip, but it was really cool."
Moore is not alone in feeling intimidated by the big wave. Tahiti native Vahine Fierro steered clear of Teahupo'o despite growing up less than 200 kilometres away.
"It's a beautiful wave but at first I avoided that wave for a long time. I never wanted to go when it was breaking, when I knew there was swell, because I was quite terrified by it," Fierro said. "It's a very intimidating wave, a scary wave, and it has reef underneath."
Now one of the strongest contenders on Teahupo'o, as shown by her victory in the Tahiti Pro stage of the WSL Championship Tour in May 2024, Fierro cannot keep away.
"I put my time in and found the beauty of it," she said. "Once you get a good wave out there, it's almost like you get addicted. The best drug I think you can ever have is to catch a wave at Teahupo'o and then you will forever come back to get in a new one.
"It was a slow relationship with that wave. I slowly was pushing myself to go out when it was bigger and, nowadays, I go out when it's big and try to get the best waves of my life and that wave never disappoints."
A test of character
Teahupo'o is typically two to three metres, but can rise as high as seven metres. Add in big barrels with a heavy drop and a full skill set is essential for any surfer daring to take on the fabled reef break.
“Surfing is a huge combination of mental and physical, but here in Tahiti I feel like the mental is more than half the battle," Moore said. "Getting yourself over the ledge and to just really commit to that take-off, it’s an intense four, five-second ride so it’s really just getting yourself down the face.”
Tahiti's Kauli Vaast tackled Teahupo'o earlier than most. He was eight years old when he surfed the wave for the first time and while he was not at his strongest physically, it was the mental side that proved even more difficult to overcome.
“(Teahupo'o) was the biggest fear for me because I always heard that Teahupo’o is a scary wave. I was super small, but I was still super scared," the now 22-year-old athlete told Olympics.com ahead of his third wildcard appearance at Tahiti Pro.
Vaast was runner-up in 2022 after taking out several more experienced surfers, including 11-time world champion Kelly Slater.
“You have to be very prepared physically and mentally because this place, it’s not a game," warned Vaast. "When it’s getting big, it’s the heaviest wave in the world for me and the most perfect wave in the world also so you have to be very focused because if you fall, you can hit the reef and that’s the danger. That’s why Teahupo'o is dangerous so you have to be smart, calm and focused."
And, as Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy would add – fearless.
"Just talking about it, I have a little bit of nerves," said the surfer who finished second to Fierro at the 2024 Tahiti Pro. "You have to dig deep and you have to listen to your instincts, but also send yourself over the ledge. It's like this perfect balance of, 'Oh my gosh, I could get the wave of my life or I could get really hurt'. The uncertainty is something that's scary. But just on the other side of that, it's like a rainbow, like a pot of gold."
Molly Picklum trains at Teahupo'o ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Welcome to paradise
While surfing Teahupo'o is the ultimate mission, surfers also don't forget to look around and take in the mesmerising sights around them.
Teahupo'o takes its name from a village situated 500 metres, or a 20-minute paddle, on shore.
The unique culture of the village residents is one of the main draws of the wave. At every Tahiti Pro event, surfers stay with local families, typically returning to the same households each year and thus fostering long-term connections.
"It was a lifetime experience. It's a whole different respect, a whole different culture," said Portugal's Teresa Bonvalot. "We felt so much love and respect from everyone, like people getting in the water and saying, 'Hi', shaking hands with everyone and you doing the same.
"And I felt like, 'Wow, this is crazy!' and actually makes everything about surfing even better because we are out there in the line-up trying to share the best waves with everyone and showing the stoke that we have and expressing the stoke to them, catching waves, then doing the best tube that they can."
During Paris 2024, the athletes are not staying with families, but on a cruise liner that serves as a floating Olympic village.
For local Vaast, hosting the Paris 2024 Olympic surfing competition is a source of pride.
“It’s something very special for the island, for Teahupo'o and for surfing because if there are great conditions, it could be one of the best contests to watch," he said.
Tahiti native Kauli Vaast first surfed Teahupo'o when he was eight years old.
Olympic Games: A new milestone for Teahupo'o
Some of the most iconic moments in surfing history have unfolded on Teahupo'o with Laird Hamilton's 'Millennium Wave' in August 2000 pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible.
The next chapter for Teahupo'o is the biggest one yet - hosting the second surfing competition in Olympic history. And that has surfers excited about what it could mean for the sport.
“People that have never seen surfing before, if the first ever thing they ever see of surfing is a wave like Teahupo’o, it could blow some minds,” said USA's Griffin Colapinto.
“There’s a lot of excitement about the surfing venue for the 2024 Olympics being here in Tahiti," his teammate Moore agreed. "This is such an extraordinary wave. I really consider it a wonder of the world."
"If we thought Tokyo was big for surfing, I think this will be a whole other level," Moore on Teahupo'o hosting Olympic surfing