Big talk.
And, like that, the calendar will soon flip to 2022 meaning that we are all two short years away from our second helping of professional Olympic surfing. The first serving came to us six-ish months ago from beautiful Japan where Brazil captured gold, the host nation silver (via Huntington Beach) and Australia’s Irukanjis the bronze thanks to the fine work of Owen Wright.
The World Surf League tour veteran will be 34 when Paris hosts the Games, the surfing component likely being staged in French Polynesia, which excites greatly and especially excites Wright. In a recent interview with Australia’s 9 News Wide World of Sport, the Culburra native seemed completely bullish on taking gold at the event, advanced paternal age be damned.
I’m definitely confident in my ability at Teahupoo. I have a really solid record in any conditions out there so I’m going to back myself against anybody no matter how big or small the waves are on the day,” he said, adding, “The wave can be intimidating if you don’t have the right mindset. It’s all about confidence in your own ability and backing yourself when the right wave comes. Having won an event there in the past, I’m looking for one thing only if I can qualify for Paris 2024, and that’s a gold medal.”
Wright’s track record does back up his big talk as he has made it to the quarters, or beyond, in his last seven Teahupoo starts winning in 2019 but… I don’t know. If I was a betting man, (which I am, it is just needlessly complicated to bet on surfing in the United States), I’d be pushing all my chips toward the John John Florence (gold), Gabriel Medina (silver), Jeremy Flores (bronze) trifecta.
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https://www.youtube.com/wat…
God this was sick. Just watched again.
Just when i thought BG had given up on the Wright Curls you start it up again ..kook
Rejected names for Aussie team..
The Parastratiosphecomyias – (catchy but )
The stratiosphecomyioides – (Hooky but hard to spell)
The supercalifragilisticexpealidocous crew (ok boomer)
The Engelburt Humperdinks
anytime Gabe wins something it’s never legit for some of you guys.
O-poo.
Big talk? …… gosp
gospel
Odds of russia and china simultaneously invading ukraine and taiwan and the olympics being cancelled? 50/50
All hyperbole! Next, they will talk about going to the moon.
yeah 50% chance WW3 and 50% chance aliens. Either one will keep everyone scared
don’t forget sharks!
Oh solid though. Is there a betting site for this sort of business?
Don’t know but that’s not them.
Gabe who actually has won Teahupoo more than once unlike John, will take gold. It’s a matter of honor for him.
Surf news? The fuck?
My bet is on the Olympic surfing event having a site change and being run in France at a beachbreak…
I hope so. Maybe Tahiti will do a Barbados and throw the yoke of colonization off! How come we didn’t get multiple articles about the free surfers of Soup Bowls?
Kerguelen Island.
I’m not even game to bet on Covid being gone by 24. So the only money I’d put on Owen is he will lose more hair by then
How about a wager on how many of the new WSL rookies survive the mid year cut? Safe money is on none.
I would back Devault. Otherwise it will be a bloodbath. The massacre of the innocents
Pupo does some nice whirlygigs.
Guy surfs good, no doubt. Not sure if it’ll fall in line with whatever it is the the WSL thinks is good theses days though.
Yeah I’m not confident they’ll survive – but is good to see some new faces!
Same. It’d be nice to see a few do well, but history is not on their side.
He is hardly going to qualify as one of the top two Australians. I’m still confused as to why the WSL threw him a wildcard this year, maybe they have to throw a wildcard to a member of the Wright family every year?
Similar could be said about Kelly, who hasn’t won an event in… how many years? Could he win at Chopes? Yes. Will he be one of the top 2 USA surfers? No.
Kelly requalified on merit this year. And anyways the WSL take into account Slater’s one man war on the environment. Can’t expect him
to hit his lofty carbon emissions sitting around on lay days strumming his guitar reading about crop circles!
100% depends on conditions. Small and shitty is one group, big and heavy is a totally different crew.
All my money is on Filipe Toledo. What could go wrong?
Does the WSL get a tax break, for letting him surf?