Paris Olympics 2024 Surfing Competition: Why It’s in Tahiti

Nearly 10,000 miles from the middle of the Olympic action in Paris, the 48 best surfers in the world will be dropping into one of the world’s most exhilarating and terrifying waves in a bid for gold.

The surf break off the coastal village of Teahupo’o in Tahiti, an island in French Polynesia, is the site of the 2024 Olympic surfing competition.

Officials will monitor the surf conditions during a 10-day window from July 27 to Aug. 5 to come up with a four-day period for the contest that’s projected to have the best waves.

All the action will be streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. (Peacock is owned by TODAY.com’s parent company, NBCUniversal.)

Holding the surfing events in Tahiti marks the longest distance in history between an Olympic competition and the host city of the Games, at 9,765 miles between the small island and Paris.

Here’s what to know about the legendary surf break.

The International Olympic Committee executive board approved the site in 2020 over the surf breaks in Biarritz, Lacanau, Les Landes and La Torche, which are all part of mainland France.

Teahupo’o had “overwhelming support” from the surfing community to be the site, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at the time, according to NBC Sports.

Teahupo’o is also expected to produce strong waves at this time of year compared to the relatively flat waves at the beaches on the French mainland.

The Tahitian surf break is widely known as one of the world’s iconic waves and a stern test for even the best surfers on the planet.

“I think it’ll be a really exciting way to showcase all the athletes and their talents, and it’ll put on a really good show for all the fans and viewers,” defending women’s gold medalist Carissa Moore of Team USA told NBC Sports.

The natural landscape on the coast produces a perfect hollow tube that creates a heavy wave with breathtaking speed and power.

The wave has been featured in countless surfing films, including the 2004 documentary “Riding Giants.” Surfing legend Laird Hamilton is shown riding a fearsome wave at Teahupo’o in 2000 that has become an iconic clip in the sport.

“Laird’s wave at Teahupo’o was the most amazing, single most significant ride in surfing history, more than any other ride, because what it did is it completely restructured collectively our entire perception of what was possible,” Sam George, former editor-in-chief of Surfer magazine, says in the film.

That’s a question even Jost’s wife, actor Scarlett Johansson, is wondering.

“I’m like, how did he get this gig?” she joked to Savannah Guthrie during a visit to TODAY on July 8.

Jost, 42, is an avid surfer, so he knows the sport. He will serve as part of NBC’s Olympic coverage right from the scene at Teahupo’o.

“He loves to surf,” Johansson said. “We have a place in Montauk (on Long Island). He’s always out there surfing.

“And somehow the dream became a reality, and now he’s going to be in Tahiti for two weeks, and I’m like, ‘Poor you.'”

“I’m honored to get to watch the best surfers in the world compete on one of the heaviest waves imaginable, and to help showcase the rich history of surfing in Tahiti,” Jost said in a news release. “And my Writers Guild Health Insurance is excited to see what the coral reef does to my back.”

Teahupo’o presents a much more difficult challenge than Japan’s Tsurigasaki Beach, which was noted for its underwhelming waves and conditions at the inaugural Olympic surfing competition in 2021.

“Japan was a beach break and a lot of wind. It was really hard waves to surf. And Tahiti is just an amazing island with a perfect lefthander,” Peruvian surfer Lucca Mesinas told NBC Olympics.

“It usually is barreling, so it’s a super-nice wave. It can be really big too, and it can be really strong.”

There is no other wave in the world like the one at Teahupo’o, so it’s hard to prepare for outside of simply going to Tahiti and experiencing it firsthand. Many participants arrived earlier to surf the break ahead of the Olympic competition.

It’s not only powerful, it’s dangerous. The pounding waves break above a shallow, jagged reef.

“It’s one of the most challenging, intense, intimidating waves in the world, just because of the way that it goes from super deep water to shallow reef,” Moore told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb on her “Making Space” podcast in April.

“And the water just builds and bends over itself. And the risk is big. People have taken really big falls and have gotten really injured there. But there’s also the other side of it where you could get the ride of your life.”

“You can have the most craziest experience, your best feelings, the best wave you can have in your life, and you can also can have the worst wipeout in your life,” Tahiti native Kauli Vaast, who will compete for France, told NBC Olympics.

There will be 48 total surfers in action — 24 men and 24 women. The men and women are each divided into eight heats, with three surfers in each heat.

The winners of each heat are determined by the two best rides for each surfer. Winners of the first round advance straight to the round of 16, while the losers of the first round are put into head-to-head elimination matchups in the second round.

The round of 16 is made up of eight heats featuring two surfers facing off against each other. The winners then advance to the quarterfinals, semifinals and then the medal matchups. Two surfers will compete in the finals, and two others will face off with the bronze medal on the line.

Moore returns to defend her gold medal from Tokyo on the women’s side, while John John Florence and Griffin Colapinto look to be serious medal threats for Team USA on the men’s side.

Florence and Colapinto are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the World Surf League tour. No American man won a medal at the inaugural Olympic competition in Tokyo, so they are looking to grab a piece of history.

Australian Jack Robinson is another medal threat who is currently ranked No. 3 in the WSL, and Brazilian Gabriel Medina is known for his big-wave prowess.

Defending men’s gold medalist Italo Ferreira of Brazil won’t be back to defend his Olympic title, ensuring a new athlete will grab the gold in Teahupo’o.

On the women’s side, the relatively wide-open field includes two other strong Team USA surfers in Caitlin Simmers and Caroline Marks, who are 1-2 in the women’s World Surf League rankings. Marks, 22, will be looking to snag a medal after coming up just short in the bronze medal matchup as a 19-year-old at the Tokyo Games.

This is also the end of a decorated career for Moore, 31, who has already announced she will be retiring from competitive surfing after the Olympics.

Tune in to the Paris Olympics on NBC and Peacock.