John John Florence was more than up for the challenge of medium-sized Chopes. Photo: ISA
Gosh, I really wish I was watching Olympic surfers grovel some waist-high, summertime French beachbreak…said no one watching the opening day of Olympic surfing in Tahiti. I’ve been watching Teahupo’o on a screen for years. But to be out in the channel for the first time, feeling the power of the turquoise ocean fold over itself and obliterate on the reef – it’s something else.
I amused myself by checking the beach cameras in mainland France today, admiring those surfers who ferociously pumped on the waist-high mush to make it to the inside sand bars. I chuckled while thinking about the once-heated debate of whether the surfing competition should be held in France or Tahiti. After watching USA’s Carissa Moore, John John Florence, Griffin Colapinto, and Caroline Marks each blast out of nine-point Teahupo’o tubes, we can all agree that Tahiti was the correct – even genius – choice for Olympic surfing, right?
It was a rather tame version of Teahupo’o on opening day compared to what might come later in the event window, but the organizers couldn’t have asked for better conditions to kick things off. Gabriel Medina summed it up well: “When the waves come it’s perfect. Not too big, not too small.”
Wide-open barrels in the overhead range were on offer to get the first non-elimination round in the books. Being blessed with such conditions on the first day of the window will give the organizers increased flexibility in choosing their spots moving forward.
As expected, Gabs (and John John) were ready for Teahupo’o. Photo: ISA
Team USA was the clear standout. All five of its surfers won heats to advance straight into round three. Marks’ 17.93 and Florence’s 17.33 were the highest heat totals of the day for the women and the men, respectively. The Americans must be beaming with confidence as the only country to score rides in the nine-point range, also knowing that Moore wasted no time in dusting off the cobwebs after stepping away from the Championship Tour.
Gabriel Medina looked comfortable in his round one win. In the press area after his heat he comically dodged questions about whether he believes he’s one of the gold medal favorites, saying, “I don’t know, that’s what people say.” When asked who he thought his biggest competition was, he again opted for the conservative answer by listing several of his competitors: John John, Jack Robinson, Joao Chianca, and Kauli Vaast. But when asked who he thought the women’s winner would be, he was decisive: his teammate Tatiana Weston-Webb.
Under the critical eye of surf media and fans who for months (or years) have questioned Filipe Toledo’s ability to surf heavy barrels, his round one performance didn’t give much reason for optimism. After bobbling an early tube opportunity, he only mustered a heat total of 7.63. When speaking to Toledo about his commitment to performing at Teahupo’o, he insisted that he was prepared and that the Olympics were his focus this year. However, Toledo only visited Tahiti twice this year – one trip before the CT and then his current Olympic trip, which started 15 days ago. When I pressed Toledo if he thought the two trips he took to Teahupo’o this year were all he could have done to prepare, he said, “I don’t have any excuses. What I had to do was done. Two (trips) were enough.”
Peru’s Alonso Correa was the culprit behind Toledo’s relegation to round two. Correa, who has emerged as one of the early dark horses, simultaneously mowed down Toledo and Kanoa Igarashi. (I tagged him as one of my underdogs to watch.) He masterfully landed a steep drop and hooked his board under the crashing lip just in time to park in the tube and get spit out – awarded an 8.5 by the judges.
“I thought I was a little deep but when I got in the tube I saw everything clear, the reef below, the incredible colors,” Correa said to the Spanish language surf outlet, Duke Surf. “Since I had second priority, I couldn’t paddle too much. It looked a little messy at first, but (when Kanoa didn’t use his priority), I had to go. When I took off it just sucked (off the reef).”
Igarashi admitted that he often has trouble focusing on the first-round heats that don’t carry the consequences of getting eliminated. “It’s hard for me to take it seriously because you don’t lose,” said Igarashi. “It’s something I need to work on. I’m going to forget about today and reset for tomorrow.”
Caity Simmers and the rest of Team USA = Fire. Photo: ISA
Women’s heat four looked to be – at least on paper – the most talent-packed of the day with Caity Simmers, Molly Picklum, and Tatiana Weston-Webb matched up. However, as Simmers explained post-heat, all three made crucial mistakes and the heat didn’t produce any noteworthy rides. All it took was a pair of sixes from Simmers to take the win.
When I caught up with Simmers after, she cracked a smile and said that she was mad when she first saw her stacked Olympic heat draw. “But obviously I am going to have to go up against them at some point, so it might as well be the first heat,” Simmers added. She also highlighted the value of living with the superstar lineup of teammates in the USA house. “It’s a really good thing going on at that house,” said Simmers. “I try not to bug them for too many (surf tips), but just going out and surfing with them every day helps a lot, seeing them and trying to imitate it.”
Other than the Americans, five other surfers managed to score excellent rides on day one: Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy, Japan’s Shino Matsuda, and Spain’s Nadie Erostarbe for the women, and Spain’s Andy Criere and Peru’s Alonso for the men.
In other news, Jordy Smith was the only person to go right during round one, a strategy he said “got him big scores in the past” when the swells were more westerly. “You got to keep your mind open,” he said. This time going right only provided him a close-out worth 0.93 points, but Jordy says he did it last in 2013 and got a wave in the 6.5/7 range. In the media scrum, Smith also squashed rumors that he would retire after this season calling it “false information.” Although he added, seemingly half-joking, that he’d consider retirement if he won the Olympics and CT this year.
Day two of competition will likely continue on Sunday, July 28th, with the first eliminations in round two. The forecast is calling for similar-sized swell and another day of offshore winds.
