Christmas comes early for small-wave world champion Filipe Toledo!
The president of French Polynesia has made bombshell comments that may force the surfing of the 2024 Olympics to take place at an insipid beachbreak rather than at the world-famous Teahupoo reef.
Much heat, you’ll remember, surrounds the building of a magnificent aluminium judging tower on the reef at a cost of five-mill US. Paris 2024 demolished the old wooden structure used by the WSL for years citing safety issues.
“This judge’s tower project will completely destroy a large part of the lagoon in the face of the most beautiful wave in the world! A construction worth over 500 million francs for 3-4 days of competition that won’t be reused for our local surfers!”
French Polynesian president Moetai Brotherson, who also supports independence from France, told the Pacific Islands Forum that by moving the three-day event to Taharuu, forty or so clicks back towards Papeete, “would have enabled us to avoid the problems we have today. At the time, it wasn’t possible. In view of the issues at stake and the protests today, perhaps we can revise this option.”
Teahupoo just beat out Taharuu as the choice for Paris 2024 following a visit by delegates in 2020.
In a response Paris 2024 organisers said in a statement,
“Tahiti was chosen because of the Teahupo’o site and its legendary wave, one of the most beautiful in the world.
“As our president, Tony Estanguet, recently pointed out, our priority today is to find a solution that will enable us to organise the surfing events of the Olympic Games in Tahiti, at the Teahupo’o site, in the best possible conditions.
“Discussions and studies will continue over the coming weeks to find a solution for organising the events on the Teahupo’o site. Along with all the stakeholders, and the Polynesian government in particular, Paris 2024 will continue to listen to all possible solutions to further improve the project. Dialogue and work will continue with environmental associations and local residents.”
So, yeah, still Teahupoo. For now.
Bad news for Filipe Toledo, whose struggles at Teahupoo have been well documented.
But with a little more heat applied maybe the Paris 2024 organisers lose their nerve and black sand Taharuu becomes the site of Toledo’s greatest triumph, Olympic gold.
A developing story, one imagines.
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Hey Joey get back in your mother’s pouch and hop off into the bush.
And just like that Alice woke up and realized it was all just a dream
The end.
They have beach breaks in Tahiti? Sounds like little lion boy has been sucking off olympic officals ….
Olympics can’t afford a real swell show up for this mockery of surfing.
Surfing an Olympic sport ? Ridiculous. Keep it sacred and separate from Olympics! The final nail in the coffin of selling out to $$$ and media frenzy
Bring back the 60s and 70s
Oh I say. I would suggest you take a chill pill and drop dead. Purgatory awaits.
Should be a fair playing field for all athletes
This is from Reuters.
An online petition calling for the scrapping of plans for the 14-metre (45 foot) aluminium scaffolding and an 800m (half-mile) service channel through the reef had gathered almost 150,000 signatures by Wednesday
I stand with my long-exploited Polynesian cuzzies in their fight to cast off the yoke of colonial oppression by the French. I am certain that newly elected president of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson of Tāvini Huiraʻatira, and his independence and self-determination referendum will eventually succeed. And just like France’s past shameless illegal nuclear testing, their continued environmental desecration and exploitation of French Polynesia and its people must end.
It’s a stunningly insane crapshoot anyway to think that Teahupo’o will be surfable, much less firing, in the narrow 4 day window allotted.
Your last paragraph is completely correct. If it was the WSL running the event it would be flat as a fluke for all four days. Then after the window closed go mega overhead for the next month.
have been watching Smithsonian Channel’s Mighty Cruise Ships series…astounding! some of the most remote places on the earth bow down and cater to the semi-elite masses as they embark into newly created harbors, slide down the ramp and are shuttled thru and stomp on ancient’s land, reap the local resources, feeding the economy with locals providing entertainment, custodial services, and crowding once pristine beaches. No country is immune. Papeete and Tahiti, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Alaska, Northern Australia, Arctic & Anarctica, Europe, Russia…there is no place they won’t travel…’cepting maybe the Middle East. Enviro, eco-sustainable, consumerism at it finest. There lies the realities of this progressive world. Doesn’t appeal to me at all. I’d rather rail grip-it like JJF and freelance it. You know, Huli: “Like the good, old, bad old daze…” But then, my career wasn’t part of recreational complex. It was the industrial manufacturing complex that is and was getting swarmed over by the gov’t complex. Greed is pretty much overlooked, or frowned upon, or re-defined as Green. Culture? What Culture? What’s that movie(s) with Charleton Heston? Planet of The Apes? Or the one when we eat people? soylentGREEN…the narrow window of 4 days? blasphemy…
Aren’t bidets basically mini wavepools?
Just convert the centimetres to good old Freedom feet,et voilà!
WSL and Olympics officially down the toilet.
If there’s a god, it will be 8-10ft and heavy, and god will not spare anyone
I have in my head Joe pronouncing aluminium and Teahupo’o over and over, and think this might all work out for the better.
Alloonyminimum
Nopes!
Why would they even consider Tahiti for the globalist scum Olympics? Move it to Hossegor.
Why not just hold it in Hossegor?
Can be fun and contestable but you risk long flat spells during summer.
plus the massive tide changes with small short-lived windows worthiness……..
Should have been Hossegor from the get go. Politics has played it’s part in that. Now with all the recent floods and pushback from locals on this bloody scorers grandstand they want out. I will suggest that the elephant in the room may be the refusal of any insurance company to offer cover to athletes from countries with limited experience of killer waves like Teahupoo. Lake surfers from Lithuania and the like.
That would be Baltic Sea surfers from Lithuania.
Well spotted swampy. True that, but they train a lot on Swiss lakes and Indeed river surfing there too. Teahupoo will be an interesting contrast if it does what it can do.
Either way very fickle in that neck of the woods.
Use the old tower with five judges, some pencils and paper. Put the rest of the mess on the cruise ship sex center. Voila
At this point, what is the problem with the Hossegor area? Pretty sure the July/August time of year has waves, maybe not as good as November but still waves. It may not be as good as Tearinyourass (is that right Sammy) but better than some shitty Tahitian beachie. Not to mention its actually in the cuntry hosting the whole shitshow.
Yes but, how would you then assert your colonialist glory and might?
Good point
Little man syndrome
Get a blocking high and yer proper fucked.
You get a little rain at Taharuu and your surfing in a chocolate milkshake. Not to mention, proper NZ swells aren’t exactly a given in July.
Reunion here we come baby, maybe?
Although interesting to see, I don’t think they are looking for a shark attack televised in the middle of the Oly’s.
It would make it significantly more watchable than the last go around.
The Great White Hope!
To the IOC’s credit, they don’t seem to want to shift away from a quality wave. Unlike those sycofantic pole smokers at the WSL.
Most likely because with a change of venue it won’t be possible to pocket a couple millions dollars.
Heard the superstructure they’re gunna build on the sand is gunna be next level! McDonald’s in the front full rub down parlor in the back and the whole thing is powered off good ol reliable clean burning coal.
Did someone say rubb down parlor???