Even as it’s taking place 9,000 miles away from Paris, surfing has been near the center of the 2024 Summer Olympics, at least when it comes to fan interest and discussion.
After debuting as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Tokyo Games, surfing has been a curiosity for sports fans across the globe over the past week.
The competition is taking place in Teahupo’o, a small village on the coast of French Polynesian island Tahiti, half a world away from the center of the Olympic festivities in Paris. “Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost, a surfer himself, has been helping anchor NBC’s coverage from Tahiti. One of the defining images from the 2024 Olympics thus far has come from surfing, with Brazil’s Gabriel Medina hovering several feet above the ocean’s surface, as if he were floating with his board still strapped to his ankle and holding up an index finger – a moment captured beautifully by Agence France-Presse photographer Jerome Brouillet.
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Over the past several days, Olympic surfing has been forced to take a pause. What was described on the Olympics’ official website as “big, unruly” surfing conditions with “poor wind direction” forced the suspension of competition last Monday, which a delay that dragged on through Wednesday.
“The ABC of any surfing competition — you’re on standby,” International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said to Olympics.com on Wednesday.
On Thursday, a long-awaited restart finally arrived.
Olympics surfing winners today
The delayed third round of the women’s surfing competition was completed Thursday, along with the quarterfinals on the men’s side.
Here are the surfing results from Thursday, August 1 at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Women’s third round
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Heat 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 6.93 def. Yang Siqi (China) 1.63
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Heat 2: Tyler Wright (Australia) 11.10 def. Anat Lelior (Israel) 7.74
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Heat 3: Johanne Defay (France) 9.00 def. Vahine Fierro (France) 7.54
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Heat 4: Carissa Moore (USA) 8.16 def. Sarah Baum (South Africa) 3.87
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Heat 5: Nadia Erostarbe (Spain) 8.34 def. Matsuda Shino (Japan) 5.84
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Heat 6: Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil) 12.34 def. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 1.93
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Heat 7: Luana Silva (Brazil) 6.77 def. Taina Hinckel (Brazil) 5.93
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Heat 8: Brisa Hennessy (Costa Rica) 12.34 def. Yolanda Hopkins (Portugal) 9.90
Men’s quarterfinals
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Heat 1: Alonso Correa (Peru) 10.50 def. Inaba Reo (Japan) 10.16
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Heat 2: Kauli Vaast (France) 15.33 def. Joan Duru (France) 12.33
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Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (Brazil) 14.77 def. Joao Chianca (Brazil) 9.33
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Heat 4: Jack Robinson (Australia) 15.33 def. Ethan Ewing (Australia) 13.00
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympics surfing results Thursday at the 2024 Paris Games in Tahiti
