TAHITI will offer some of the best, if not THE best surfing conditions in the world.
This is the ideal place to hold the Olympic competition — and provide unimaginable views.
Green mountains, fresh vegetation, bright-coloured coral reef, clear blue water — it’s the dream you would think of as a kid.
Why not hold it off the coast of France? It’s primetime swell season over in Tahiti whereas in Europe during the summer the waves can be a bit detrimental.
In French Polynesia they could be anywhere from eight feet to the height of a two-storey house, depending on the swell.
Being an island out in the Pacific Ocean, it’s really deep and waves travel such a vast distance, breaking over a super-sharp, shallow coral reef.
This acts almost like an underwater cliff and the ocean power makes the waves jump up, breaking very powerfully and tall.
It is a speciality wave — we call it ‘getting barrelled’ — as surfers will disappear behind this big curl of water.
That is quite dangerous so the competition will be filled with drama and excitement.
Tokyo was held on a beach, it was quite windy and the waves were not great — now we are flipping that to a paradise island.
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WHAT TO WATCH TODAY...
Today, two sporting events begin at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Football and rugby sevens group stage matches start two days before the official curtain raiser to allow players enough time between games.
Argentina, Spain, France and the United States are among the big hitters in action in the football.
Click here for all the events taking place at Paris 2024 today.
Follow all the action as it unfolds with our Paris 2024 Olympics LIVE blog.
Favourites in the men’s shortboard are John John Florence of the US, Brazilian Gabriel Medina and Australian Jack Robinson.
In the ladies look out for Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, American Caitlin Simmers and Aussie Tyler Wright — all from countries with strong surfing heritages.
Five judges mark technical ability and how long surfers remain in the ‘curl’, with scores out of ten and the best two waves count.
I hope the Games boost the economies in the surfing community ahead of the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
In Britain we set up an Olympic programme targeting LA — and Brisbane 2032.
It’s all about providing the right structure and quality coaching.
Skateboarder Sky Brown is an incredible surfer — she is ‘goofy-footed’, with her right-foot forward — and has a bright future if she decides to pursue our sport.
Olympic events often take place outside the host city, though not on the other side of the world.
At London 2012, the furthest event from London was the sailing, which was held in Weymouth.
However, at Beijing 2008, the horse riding events took place in Hong Kong – 1200 miles from the Chinese capital.
