The Paris Olympics’ surfing venue, Teahupo’o in French Polynesia nearly 10,000 miles from the city, is welcoming tasty waves this weekend, with the first of four days of competition scheduled tomorrow amid a nine-day window designed to allow for flat, off days.
The event is composed of six rounds, starting with tomorrow’s eight heats featuring three surfers each, and including quarterfinals, semifinals and final — the latter three planned for a single day. Event forecaster Kurt Korte of private wave forecast service Surfline is enthused about the expected conditions, with head-high to “several feet overhead” waves en route, he said.
“Lots of opportunity for some good waves,” Korte said. “Should be a great day.”
He credits two overlapping southwest swells that will hit the reef off the village of Teahupo’o to create its churning, left-breaking barrel. Competitors who can paddle into that barrel and spend quality time there with style, and without wiping out, could wow judges and grab a heat-winning bye into Round 3. Team USA surfer and world No. 1 Caitlin Simmers of Oceanside, California, will be looking for those sustainable tubes on Saturday.
Light, northeast winds are likely to help by contributing to clean conditions free of chop, Korte said.
The break could see a bump in size on Tuesday, when waves 8 to 12 feet are in the Surfline forecast. Organizers hope that Tuesday will host the event’s final rounds.
As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass got a firsthand look at the launch of the 2024 Olympics, a labor-backed coalition launched “Campaign Hometeam,” an operation aimed at shaping the 2028 Olympics in L.A.
“The campaign will focus on fighting for and protecting the interests of the people — primarily Black, brown and low-income — who live in the communities surrounding the sports venues that will host the LA Games,” the campaign said in a statement today.
The mayor’s office said she’s traveling with first lady Jill Biden as part of the White House delegation to Paris. In a statement yesterday, Bass seemed to anticipate labor’s demands.
“We continue to learn about strategies and solutions from Parisian and regional officials that we can leverage back home in Los Angeles to help local small businesses, create local jobs and make lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout our region,” Bass said.
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News Voiced and Reported by: Soha.M
Sources: CNBC | Reuters
Genre: Current Affairs | Geo-Politics | Olympics 2024 | Sports
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