Surf's not up, Olympic competition delayed in Tahiti

TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti -- Surfing at the Paris 2024 Olympics was called off for another day on Saturday, with small waves at the venue of Teahupo'o in Tahiti preventing the running of the last few heats to find the gold medalists.

With waves forecast to be more or less the same on Sunday -- head-high or less -- organizers face a nail-biting wait for better waves to arrive for the last possible day of competition on Monday.

Delays due to poor conditions are normal in surfing competitions, with organizers having a 10-day window to run four days of heats -- though picking those days is not always easy.

Tahiti's Teahupo'o delivered some of the best conditions ever seen for a competition for the men's round three last Monday before bad winds forced a pause for a day and a half.

When competition resumed on Thursday, the waves weren't great but it was a day full of emotion as America's reigning Olympic champion Carissa Moore and local hero Vahine Fierro lost out.

Fierro's Tahitian teammate Kauli Vaast will continue to fly the flag for France in the first semifinal against Peru's Alonso Correa, while Australian Jack Robinson will take on the might of Brazil's three-time world champion Gabriel Medina in semifinal two.

On the women's side, France's Johanne Defay will face American world champion Caroline Marks in one semifinal, while Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil and Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy will meet in the other.

--Reuters, Special to Field Level Media