2024 Paris Olympics Surfing Round 1: Who to watch and what to know

Fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the opening rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games surfing competition. However, unlike the other events in the Summer Olympic Games, the date is not written in stone. So how does the surfing competition work? Nearly 10,000 miles away from the home site of the Paris Games, the surfing athletes are preparing to ride a monster wave in Tahiti. The exact launch of their competition will depend on weather and ocean conditions. The very first day for “The Call” will be July 27. If that day’s forecast looks promising the competition will be given the go-ahead.

Round one will see all surfers on both the men's and women’s sides take the water. They will be in heats of three with the winner moving straight to the third round. The two other athletes from each heat will have to battle it out once again in the second round based on scores, with the loser of that heat going home.

The round one heats are as follows for both men and women:

Men:

Heat 1- Ethan Ewing (AUS), Tim Elter (GER), and Jordy Smith (RSA)

Heat 2- Joan Duru (FRA), Jack Robinson (AUS), and Matthew McGillivray (RSA)

Heat 3- Alonso Correa (PER), Filipe Toledo (BRA), and Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)

Heat 4- Gabriel Medina (BRA), Connor O'Leary (JPN), and Bryan Perez (ESA)

Heat 5- Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Billy Stairmand (NZL), and João Chianca (BRA)

Heat 6- Andy Criere (ESP), John John Florence (USA), and Alan Cleland (MEX)

Heat 7- Kauli Vaast (FRA), Lucca Mesinas (PER), and Griffin Colapinto (USA)

Heat 8- Rio Waida (INA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), and Inaba Reo (JPN)

Women:

Heat 1 Yolanda Hopkins (POR), Caroline Marks (USA), and Sarah Baum (RSA)

Heat 2 Sol Aguirre (PER), Janire Etxabarri (ESP), and Vahine Fierro (FRA)

Heat 3 Anat Lelior (ISR), Sanoa Dempfle-Olin (AUS), and Tyler Wright (AUS)

Heat 4 Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Molly Picklum (AUS), and Caitlin Simmers (USA)

Heat 5 Johanne Defay (FRA), Brisa Hennessy (CRC), and Candelaria Resano (NCA)

Heat 6 Tainá Hinckel (BRA), Camilla Kemp (GER), and Luana Silva (BRA)

Heat 7 Nadia Erostarbe (ESP), Siqi Yang (CHN), and Saffi Vette (NZL)

Heat 8 Carissa Moore (USA), Teresa Bonvalot (POR), and Matsuda Shino (JPN)

Who to watch?

There are some past Olympic and World champions in the mix this year in Tahiti. Some of the best surfers to have ever graced the water will be in the lineup at Teahupo'o. Despite this being the second go-around for surfing at the Olympics, the waves in Tahiti will be very different than three years ago in Tokyo. Those with experience at this dangerous wave break and the strength to handle the harsh conditions of this massive pumping left will excel this time around.

Carissa Moore is a multi-time World Champion and can never really be overlooked in any competition she enters. However, after taking the entire year off of WSL competition to prepare for this Olympic season, there are some unanswered questions surrounding Moore this week. While she did not have the hustle and bustle of the WSL season, it left an opening for her to travel to Tahiti more than her peers and practice in the water. In the past three years, she has placed fifth in each WSL competition held at Teahupo'o.

John John Florence is known as the King of Pipeline. He excels in Hawaii but can charge on any big wave he finds. This year at the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro presented by Outerknown, Florence took second place. He is a former World Champion and seems to be surfing at his very best these days following some injury-filled years. His goal was always to make the Olympic team and despite not finishing on the podium in 2021, these waves in Tahtit are a much better fit for his style.

Vahine Fierro is a local girl who got the call to serve as a Wildcard fill-in at her home break of Teahupo'o at the WSL event held there in May. She showed her home cooking and won the competition, making her the first Tahitian wildcard to claim a victory at Teahupo'o. She will be on hand during this Olympic competition to perhaps once again play spoiler and show just why they now call her “Queen of Teahupo'o.”

Stay tuned for the competition window to open on July 27 and round 1 to kick off shortly after that.