And Carissa Moore, already a gold medallist, swings under the hood to qualify for Team USA too!
After a controversial couple of weeks where the two-time world champ hinted at quitting the tour after a bad decision at J-Bay, John John Florence has become the favourite to win Olympic gold at Teahupoo in 2024 following his provisional qualification for the Paris Games.
Florence, who’ll be almost thirty-two by the time the Games rolls around, secured his position in the American team by swinging through his first heat at the Tahiti Pro, held in pretty ordinary sorta four-footers.
“It feels super good. To have a second chance at the Olympics again, especially coming back here to Tahiti, I’m really excited about that,” said Florence, who finished ninth at Tokyo in 2020.
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Carissa, who won gold in 2020, banged through a heat and gets the red-white-and-blue liveried tracksuit, obvs hoping for a redux.
“Oh my gosh. I just found out that I provisionally qualified for the Olympics 2024, here in Tahiti. I couldn’t be more stoked. I didn’t win my heat, but this feels like a little win.”
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What’s the criteria to get into the Games?
It ain’t easy to qualify nor understand criteria!
1. 2023 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour: First 10 eligible men and first 8 eligible women.
2. 2023 ISA World Surfing Games: 4 men and 4 women selected based on their continent. Top finishing eligible surfer of each gender from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
3. 2023 Pan American Games: First eligible man and first eligible woman in the surfing competitions.
4. 2024 ISA World Surfing Games: First 5 eligible men and first 7 eligible women.
5. 2024 ISA World Surfing Games: The winning teams by gender, will qualify 1 place for their respective country/NOC, regardless of the 2-per country quota limit.
I think theres only two surfers per team, which will be jjf and griff. But i could be wrong on this.
With John’s luck it will be pumping and perfect on day one and some goat herder from a landlocked country will get crushed on the reef and the event will be canceled.
Why’s it always gotta be the goat herders? Why not a dairy farmer like Beef n Beer? Or a pro surfer like Ethan Ewing, or Nic Von Rupp?
How about a Starbucks barista?
Do you think the women World Cup football players get bigger crowds and better pay because,well, it’s just way more athletic, interesting, competitive, etc etc etc ?
I mean I love pro surfing, nothing is better than watching three ppl bob up down waiting for a wave for 30 minutes.
I totally get for friends and family the endless ten full days of competition is nail biting.
The other billion beings on the world.
Must less so
And I’m not shamed any female pro surfer!
It’s not my fault soccer girls are skinny, aggressive and way more attractive!
Not the US women.
Once Hope Solo retired, her boobs disappeared from the internet and she started getting arrested for DWI’s the quality went way down.
And the special Olympics just announced Trestles as the venue! Xox
Should’ve gone with Pipe really. Wussies.
TLDR. Can JJF do ‘lympics if he doesn’t world tour next year?
Yes. Though i think all provisionally qualified surfer have to at least turn up to the world surfing games next year.
Can someone elaborate on the “provisionally” part of it all. Engaged but not married yet?
Why not just wait till someone actually qualifies and say “Hey! You’ve qualified!!”
He has to be “in good standing” with the US surfing association (or whatever its called) plus pass olympic drug tests, sign the olympic charter etc. Once he does that, he’s in.
I got a feeling he has to turn up to the world surfing games as well.
Sightly more complicated qualification criteria due to japan winning the 2023 teams event.
5b. If japan wins the 2024 teams event, the country that finishes second will instead get the extra spot.
6. Theres also a kind of bullshit “universality” place that will get a place gifted to some poor schmuck if the 20 spots arent allocated in steps 1 thru 5.
The only way kelly gets a gig is via step 5, which means the US mens team has to finish 1st or 2nd to japan in the 2024 wotld surfing gamrs.
6. Be Kelly Slater and pull every string you’ve got to secure that ISA wildcard (or whatever it’s called). It’ll be interesting to see what they do and an absolute rort if they give it to him. Old Baldy ain’t home n dry yet.
It’ll be some kind of lifetime achievement type deal.
Idk – depends on who he’s pissed off over the years at ISA. And he hasn’t got his bitch Grogan to do his bidding anymore….
[shrug]
Nothing seductive in this piece. No illusions, no sultry adjectives. Its as if your mom redacted your penthouse forum stories.
In a dang rush! The sauna calls!
You an eucalyptus water on the hot rocks boy?
To get through design school I worked as a lifeguard at a well to do pool and fitness centre frequented by NZ’s political class (funny seeing an ex PM in a pair of speedos).
Had an entitled old guy who always bugged us to up the ratio of eucalyptus oil to water in the squirt bottle* and wouldn’t accept our explanations of safety.
He must have watched where we would mix the concoction as one day we were down changing over the lane ropes at the far end when the pool side sauna window lit up like a flash bulb followed quickly by four old singed men pouring out the door and plunging into the deep end.
We considered offering the practice to the other members as an exciting alternative to body waxing.
* sadly no elegant hand crafted wooden bucket and pouring ladle in this part of the world. Just a $2 plastic restaurant kitchen mise en place bottle.