Olympic Games Paris 2024
Venue: Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
Surfing will make its second-ever appearance in the Olympics at the Paris 2024 Games after debuting in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The competition will start with round one of the men’s and women’s heats on the 27th, and the competition will go through to August 5th. Tokyo 2020 surfing men’s gold medalist Italo Ferreira is ruled out of the Paris 2024 games due to a season-ending injury that ruined his chances of qualifying, making way for a new face in quest of the gold medal.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Surfing at the Olympics
After making its first-ever appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, surfing will make its second-ever appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, this time around, the competition will have 8 more surfers than the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where they had just 40 surfers in both the men's and the women's categories–now 48 surfers will compete.
Despite a record of almost 10,000 miles away from Paris (host city), Teahupo'o in Tahiti will host the surfing games due to what the organisers see as where they could get excellent waves. The athletes have been provided with accommodations in a place different from other athletes. It was revealed that the Aranui 5, a cruise ship, will serve as the Olympic Village for surfing competitors at the Paris Olympics. Before resorting to using the Aranui 5 as an accommodation alternative, efforts were made to get a standard hotel to house the surfers. Still, they couldn’t get a hotel worthy of renovation to house the surfers within 45 minutes to their competition venue.
Key Facts about Surfing at the Paris 2024 Olympics
- Surfing will be held for the second time at the Olympic Games.
- The Paris 2024 Olympics will be the first competition to ever house athletes in a floating Olympic Village (the Aranui 5).
- The 15,700 approximate distance in kilometres between Paris and Tahiti is the longest distance between events at a single Olympic Games.
- This year, the Olympic Games have 48 competitors (24 each for men and women categories). There were 20 surfers in each category in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but only 19 started in the men’s event.
- Every wave is rated by five judges on a scale of 0.1 to 10.
- Tokyo 2020 surfing gold medalist Italo Ferreira is ruled out of Paris 2024 games due to a season-ending injury that ruined his chances of qualifying.
The Brazillian Storm at Paris 2024
Brazillians seem to have taken over the surfing world in this current generation to the extent that this era of pro surfing is named “The Brazilian Storm.” Seven of the last 9 seasons’ titles have been won by Brazilians. Despite the fact that Tokyo 2020 surfing gold medalist Italo Ferreira is not competing at the upcoming Games, Brazil still have lots of men who can bring home the medal, and these players include three-time world champion Gabriel Medina, two-time champion Filipe Toledo and 23-year-old Joao Chianca.
No doubt, Gabriel Media is leading the race in this competition. The two-time world champion is one of the most successful surfers at Teahupo’o, having surfed an incredible six finals over his career at this venue. After being dumped out of the quarterfinals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Gabriel Medina will have his spirit high to get to the podium here. Gabriel Medina made it to this Olympics after winning the 2024 ISA World Games.
However, American John John Florence can never be written off, either. The two-time world champion is leading the WSL Championship Tour and took silver at the Tahiti Pro, beating Medina in the semifinals. He was also dumped out in round 16 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also won the Vans World Cup of Surfing back in 2011 and 2013, making history as the youngest competitor ever to win the event.
| Surfers | Winner Odds |
| Gabriel Medina | 3.00 |
| John John Florence | 4.00 |
| Jack Robinson | 5.00 |
| Kauli Vaast | 9.00 |
| Griffin Colapinto | 13.00 |
| Ramzi Boukhiam | 21.00 |
| Filipe Toledo | 21.00 |
| Leonardo Fioravanti | 23.00 |
| Joao Chianca | 31.00 |
| Jordy Smith | 34.00 |
| Lucca Mesinas | 34.00 |
| Connor O’Leary | 41.00 |
| Kanoa Igarashi | 51.00 |
| Ethan Ewing | 51.00 |
| Rio Waida | 67.00 |
| Joan Duru | 81.00 |
| Matthew McGillivray | 101.00 |
Odds Courtesy of Bet365 as of 26th July 2024. Odds may now differ.
Expert Betting Tips
I will be backing Gabriel Media to get the gold in this category. Obviously, he is one of the most successful surfers at Teahupo’o, having surfed an incredible six finals over his career at this venue. So, he understands the waves here in Tahiti. He has also reached the podium in two of his last 3 CT events. However, with the look of things, Kauli Vaast will be one of the surfers to watch out for. Vaast is familiar with the Tahiti environment as his base and he almost won the WSL event there as a wildcard. With this, the Tahiti native should get to the podium on his home waves.
- Kauli Vaast to win a medal for 2.50 odds
- Gabriel Medina to win for 3.06 odds
- Gabriel Medina to win for 3.00 odds