TEAUPO, Tahiti (AP) — Contrasting reactions of joy and disappointment were on the faces of surfers as they emerged from the qualifying rounds at the Paris Olympic surfing competition in Tahiti on Sunday.
“Today is the first day of real competition,” said France’s Joanne Defay, who beat Australia’s Molly Pickram in the morning heat. “It’s win-or-lose for all the athletes.”
On the second day of competition, male and female competitors competed in eight heats of two each, with the winners progressing to the next round and the losers eliminated, missing out on a chance to win a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The women’s heats began on a rainy and windy morning. The waves were noticeably smaller and there were fewer barrels. Opening Day Competitive.
Conditions favoured surfers with less experience in Te Ahupo’o’s larger than normal, heavier waves. is famous.
“There weren’t many barrels today, so my coach told me to adjust,” said the tournament’s youngest skater, 15-year-old Shiqi Yang from China, after her win over Peru’s Sol Aguirre. “I never felt scared, I was just excited.”
By the time the men’s heats began at noon, the sun was out and the wind was still strong, with overtime added to some heats due to “poor conditions,” but surfers still earned high marks in the barreling waves.
Notably absent from the second round were surfers from Team USA, who advanced directly to the third round after winning their heats on the first day of the tournament.
“It was nice because everybody slept in and had a leisurely breakfast,” Shane Dorian, head coach of the U.S. Olympic surfing team, told The Associated Press. “Some people were surfing, some people were spending time with their families. It was nice to have a day to relax.”
Despite missing out on a gold medal, some athletes expressed gratitude for surfing’s inclusion in the Olympic Games.
“For us surfers, it’s really nice to get our sport a little more known, get more attention and show people that it’s not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle,” said Camilla Kemp, the first woman to represent Germany in Olympic surfing before dropping out after losing to South Africa’s Sarah Baum.
The Paris Olympics will mark the second time that surfing has been included as an Olympic sport, after its first appearance at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the women’s competition, China’s Yan, South Africa’s Sarah Baum, Japan’s Matsuda Shino, France’s Defay, Brazil’s Taina Hinkel and Tatyana Weston-Webb, Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins and Israel’s Anat Lelior all advanced through qualifying rounds.
In the men’s competition, Kanoa Igarashi and Conor O’Leary of Japan, Jordy Smith of South Africa, Kauri Vaast of France, Ramzi Boukiam of Morocco, Allan Cleland Quinones of Mexico, Jack Robinson of Australia and Filipe Toledo of Brazil advanced to the third round after winning qualifiers.
Going forward, the competition will have a single-elimination head-to-head format, with two surfers in each heat, the winner moving on to the next round and the loser eliminated. The losers of the two semi-final heats will compete in a bronze medal match.
The next competition date will be determined after officials evaluate wave conditions. ___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-Paris-Olympic-Games
