The End of the Road.
Chopes.
Teahupo'o.
While not everyone agrees on its preferred nomenclature, for the last two decades, this hollow, pristinely beautiful and supremely terrifying Tahitian reef pass has been universally recognized as one of surfing's most respected international competitive proving grounds.
Since being added to the World Championship Tour in 2001, Teahupo'o has played host to some of the most historic competitive performances in waves of consequence of any wave in the world, save perhaps Pipeline or Waimea Bay.
Teahupo'o is located in the middle of the South Pacific, on the southern tip of Tahiti, the capital of French Polynesia's 100+ island chain. The wave starts to turn on during the Southern Hemisphere's winter season, and can hold as big of south or southwest swell that any storm can throw at it.
While Teahupo'o became a household name in the surfing world around the turn of the century, its history goes back to the period when Bruce Brown and The Endless Summer crew first came through looking for waves in the early 1960s.
While Bruce, Mike, and Robert never made it to The End of The Road, in 1963 Peva Levy's father purchased the valley above Teahupo'o and moved his family there. Peva and his cousin grew up riding their first waves on pieces of wood at some of the area's friendlier reefs and river mouths, before venturing out to see what this curiously hollow break really looked like.
Pure perfection discovered at the End of the Road - WSL / Will H-S
"My cousin told me, "Look at that wave! This will be a very famous wave one day." I asked, "Why?" He said, "Look at that barrel! This wave is so special. And he was right!"
While the wave went largely unridden throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, a crew of unhinged bodyboarders like Mike Stewart began to toy with what was possible at Teahupo'o, paving the way for early Tahitian pioneers like Vetea "Poto" David, Manoa Drollet, and Raimana Van Bastolaer to begin pushing paddle and tow surfing.
Teahupo'o still remained truly underground, save for a few early articles and sections in surf magazines and surf films throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Then, in 1997 an 18-year-old Andy Irons won the first pro event ever there, setting the stage for the 1998 Gotcha Pro, one of the most famous surf contests in history.
Teahupo'o has become your favorite surfer's favorite stop on tour for moments like this... Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb with a 10 in 2024. - WSL / Ed Sloane
In 2001, Teahupo'o was officially added to the World Championship Tour, and has since become one of the most-watched and thoroughly anticipated events each year.
For surfers qualified for this summer's Olympics, it is a fitting backdrop for the world's biggest sporting event.
Learn more about Teahupo'o here.
Head to the International Surfing Association (ISA) for more information on surfing in the Olympics.