It was always going to be difficult to follow up the ridiculous drama the world got to enjoy from Day 3 of Olympic surfing in Tahiti. But with a challenging and unpredictable forecast for the remaining days of the waiting period, the officials called on Women's Round 3, as well as the Men's and Women's Quarterfinals, in lumpy, mixed up conditions that to the millions of new fans of the sport would have looked like a different location entirely.
However, the women were able to make the most of the mixed bag they were offered, so let's get into it.
USA's Caroline Marks was able to find shade among challenging conditions to move on to the Quarterfinals. - ISA
Women's Round 3 Heat 1: USA's Caroline Marks vs China's Siqi Yang
The World Champ vs The People's (Republic of China's) Champ kicked off Round 3 in less than ideal Teahupo'o, but what would be considered all-time conditions at 90% of the world's surf spots-punchy, rippable, head-high plus, and relatively clean.
Caroline Marks showed her scrappy Floridian roots, getting busy early trying to make things happen, chasing waves up and down the reef for small scores. Siqi Yang took a few swings but never got a proper opportunity. Marks keeps Team USA's dreams alive heading into the round of 16. Yang heads home to China a household name in the international surfing world, and surely a national hero for her fearless performance at Teahupo'o.
Australia's Tyler Wright locked into a long runner to move her forward in the medal chase - ISA
WR3 Heat 2: Israel's Anat Lelior vs Australia's Tyler Wright
Tel Aviv's Anat Lelior didn't seemed fazed to be surfing against one of the most decorated veterans in the event, 2x World Champ Tyler Wright. Anat on her forehand, Wright on her backhand, both displayed their powerful, sturdy styles in the unpredictable lineup, both earning mid-range scores for mid-sized waves, with Wright getting the best of their exchanges through the first half of the heat.
Both stayed busy, squeezing every drop out of the complicated lineup, going to turns and exchanging 4's and 5's. Needing a score, Leilor sent a Hail Mary with less than a minute remaining, but as the wave clamped shut on her so did her Olympic run.
Tyler Wright joins fellow Australian teammates Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson in the Quarterfinals.
"I felt good," Wright said. "I converted two 5's straight away, then I had potentially an eight probably for today's standards, and got clipped on the corner. I wasn't really happy with that. I'll change my mentality, because I really feel like I could have made that if I had a bit more of a bulldog mentality. But the rest of the heat, I think I had great wave selection, great looks, great positioning. So I feel good going into the Quarterfinals. It's going to be a tough match-up [against Caroline Marks]."
"Well, she's beat me a few times out here," Wright continued. "She likes to play a certain game, and she likes her certain waves out here. So I'm gonna try and pick apart her game plan, as well as stick to my own. She's really good out here. I love her style out here and she's also on the front side which you know, with conditions like this you can see a little bit more, so you can thread a little easier, you can kind of shift and pivot on a switch. Which is a little bit easier than backside at times. I'm gonna have to kinda assess conditions right before obviously and to try and come up with something that's pretty solid because she has beat me out here a lot."
Challenging conditions were a solid match for France's Johanne Defay powerful backhand attack, who was all smiles after a huge victory. - ISA
WR3 Heat 3: France's Vahine Fierro vs France's Johanne Defay
What a heartbreaker, Vahine Fierro and Johanne Defay - both French female contenders in one heat deciding who will remain.
The local star and winner of this year's SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, Fierro, has been a favorite to win since first qualifying last year at the ISA World Games in El Salvador, along with Kauli Vaast, the first surfers officially with spots in the 2024 Games.
Losing today against her teammate, in conditions that wouldn't have inspired a second glance on a normal day in the village, would have been anticlimactic to say the least for the young Tahitian charger.
The two traded blows, but Defay dug deep, her powerful approach perfectly suited to the bumpy conditions, earning two mid-range scores to edge out her countrywoman for a spot in the Quarterfinals.
"Obviously today was not her best 30 minutes," Defay said of her teammate/competitor Fierro. "I think experience in competition maybe helped me at this stage. I was with my coach, sticking to my game plan with maneuvers, which worked best for me today because tuberiding was hard, you know-you can see it was hard. So I'm happy to make it."
The defending Gold Medalist, Carissa Moore, looked back in competitive form, going to turns to grind out a heat win and advance to the Quarterfinals. - ISA
WR3 Heat 4: USA's Carissa Moore vs South Africa's Sarah Baum
No surprise, Hawaii's Queen of Aloha Carissa Moore looked right at home in the unpolished Pacific lineup, the waves at Teahupo'o today looking not unlike a bumpy day at Ala Moana Bowls, near her home on the South Shore of Oahu.
While South African Sarah Baum struggled to connect the dots, Moore made fast fun of the conditions, taking the win over the goofyfoot, on her hunt for another Olympic Medal.
Nadia Erostarbe celebrates in the channel after a hard fought victory. - ISA
WR3 Heat 5: Spain's Nadia Erostarbe vs Japan's Shino Matsuda
The Basque goofyfoot Nadia Erostarbe looked fired up in her Round 3 match up against Japan's Shino Matsuda. Working with Aritz Aranburu - a former Teahupo'o Trials Winner and one of the most respected, technical backside tuberiders on earth - Erostarbe kept her wits about her in the complicated lineup, putting up two midrange scores that were enough to best Matsuda, who couldn't find a wave worth more than a 3.17.
One of the newer or lesser-known names in the draw going into the Games, Nadia has been demonstrating a whole lot of dark horse energy, and carries plenty of momentum heading into the Quarterfinals.
Tatiana Weston-Webb, focused as she entered the water against Current World No. 1 Caitlin Simmers. - ISA
WR3 Heat 6: USA's Caity Simmers vs Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb
Oceanside's golden child vs. Brazil's perennial World Title contender, Caitlin Simmers and Tatiana Weston-Webb scrapped hard against each other in the tough Teahupo'o conditions. While Simmers came close trying to force what would have been highlight waves, she kept getting cut down by the clampy, lurchy sections on offer. Meanwhile, Weston-Webb delivered solid, powerful surfing, taking the young American hopeful out of her first Olympic bid.
"The ocean kinda just didn't really choose me out there," said Simmers after the tough loss. "That's how it happens. So I don't know. I mean, [Tati's] definitely one of the best out here. Like a month ago, she got like a perfect 10 out here. I wish we got kind of conditions like that today, but kind of just tricky conditions and yeah, it just didn't work out."
"Obviously not the conditions that everyone prays for when you're surfing here," said Weston-Webb after the win. "But I feel very grateful because we've had a lot of camps here and I've surfed a lot in these conditions. So it helped me actually be really aware where I was in the lineup, and it helped me get good waves too."
"Coming up against Catiy again, she's pretty much got me every time, other than some three man heats," added Weston-Webb. "She's just such a formidable competitor. She's so good at surfing. She's so good at competing. She has this energy about her that she, I don't know-for some reason I think sometimes she acts like she doesn't care, but I know how much she cares and I know how smart she is in the heat. I see past that, so I get really, really nervous going against her because she's just so good."
"I wanted to be able to show my surfing and I wanted a wave that was going to come back at me so I could really display my rail surfing that I've been working on. That wave just really cuffed out beautifully, and I had three turns-and three turns is a big deal right now-so I was stoked. And then as soon as I saw that little West Bowl coming and Caity was too far out,I was like, ‘oh, I think this one might barrel,' You have to take a risk and a chance, especially under priority. And so I did and it worked out in my favor."
Brazil's Luana Silva was looking at ease and connected in her Round 3 heat win. - ISA
WR3 Heat 7: Brazil's Taina Hinckel vs Brazil's Luana Silva
In another heartbreaker of countrywoman vs countrywoman, the two young Brazilians sparred relentlessly, trading waves on their backhands, going to turns in the less than favorable conditions. Taina Hinckel put in a solid effort, linking combos all the way to dry reef, while Silva got the better of the exchanges, her turns more committed and connected.Luana Silva heads to the Quarterfinals joining her beau and teammate Joao Chianca and Gabriel Medina.
WR3 Heat 8: Portugal's Yolanda Hopkins vs Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy
In the final heat of Round 3, Portugal's Yolanda Hopkins came up against an in-form and rallying Brisa Hennessy, who dropped the highest total of the day for her patented, stylishly lead-footed backhand approach, her Glen Pang-shaped Town and Country's built for powerful, unpredictable surf just like what was on offer today.
And just like that, the powerhouse from Playa Matapalo, Hennessy, is headed to meet the rest of the Quarterfinalists. Two Americans, two Brazilians, a Spaniard, Costa Rican, Frenchwoman, and Australian will be up this afternoon. Here's your Quarterfinal match ups:
Australia's Tyler Wright vs USA's Caroline Marks
France's Johanne Defay vs USA's Carissa Moore
Spain's Nadia Erostarbe vs Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb
Brazil's Luana Silva vs Costa Rica Brisa Hennessy
Peru's hard-charging Alonso Correa now set to fight for a medal. - ISA
Men's Quarterfinal Heat 1: Peru's Alonso Correa vs Japan's Reo Inaba
While both of these surfers might not have been households names in the surf world, Alonso Correa and Reo Inaba are huge in their respective regions, and together represented the only heat in the quarters not involving two surfers from the same Big 3 countries (USA, Australia, and Brazil). Alonso has been one of South America's most respected all conditions surfers for years, while Inaba, along with the rest of the famously charging Japanese "Mobb," includes Taichi Wakita, Ren Hashimoto and Shun Murakami.
Opening the Quarterfinals, on his third effort Inaba dropped the highest score of the day, a few judges even going excellent with their scores, for a 7.33. But, while Inaba struggled to back up the standout wave, Correa got busy dropping two midrange scores-a 4.1 and 6.33-to edge out Inaba by less than a point.
Kauli Vaast finding the diamond in the rough and flexing local knowledge. - ISA
MQF Heat 2: France's Kauli Vaast vs France's Joan Duru
In the first of three countryman on countryman match ups, France's Joan Duru and local Kauli Vaast put in the best performance, and highest scoring heat of the day, the two goofyfooters some of the most experienced Teahupo'o specialists in the draw.
Vaast got the best of Duru, digging through the diminished conditions for gold nuggets, nabbing three bangers in a row, and the first excellent score of the day.
The local will surf for a podium finish in the semifinals against Alonso Correa.
"I'm still stoked," said Duru after being knocked out by his teammate. "Overall it's been a really good contest for me. At least there's one Frenchman in the semi final. He's going to win a Medal for France. It's going to be amazing to watch."
"This sucks, to have another teammate in the heat," Vaast said after his heat. "This is the hardest part, but this is competition and I'm really stoked.I was stressing a little bit, because he's one of the best tuberiders, and he's like my big brother-we live together, we did so many training sessions out there, he knows how I surf."
"But it was a great hit for me," added Vaast. "My strategy worked. I got my waves. I got scores. I got the rhythm and now I'm happy to make it through and into the next one. The waves were pretty hard, but I was just surfing, enjoying it, and creating opportunities just catching a lot of waves.
It was super inspiring, because he knows, and I know, we gave it all 100%, 200%. We went to war. A lot of emotion after this one. It would be way better to have him in the final. We have the same coach too, Jeremy [Flores] and he was super proud. Great vibes, how fun the entire week has been so far. We have a great team, everybody support each other this morning. We had the same scenario with the girls. It's something special. Great power. Great mana. It's good energy and this is our force."
Brazil's Gabriel Medina is the favorite for Gold. - ISA
MQF Heat 3: Brazil's Gabriel Medina vs Brazil's Joao Chianca
With the entire nation of Brazil tuned into the Olympics today, Heat 3 was always going to deliver drama, as Gabriel Medina came up against his young teammate Joao Chianca.
In typical Medina fashion he seemed to manifest hollow sections and waves with open face. After opening up the heat with a keeper 6.67, Medina twisted the knife into Chianca with one of the highest scores of the day, an 8.10 for the cleanest pit of the afternoon.
Medina finds himself where he left off in Tokyo, battling for his first Olympic Medal.
"This wave means a lot to me, because it's a place I feel so comfortable," Medina said after his win. "I don't know why, just the energy here is different. I love just being here, in the water. There's something special here."
"Today was really tricky," added Medina. "I think every contest there is a survival day and I feel like that was it. But I'm happy with the win. Joao was a really dangerous guy-I know how good he is and one had to make it."
While Gabe's been trying to focus on the task at hand, his social media has been going absolutely haywire, after the iconic photo of him kicking out of his near-perfect wave from Day 3 took the internet by storm, earning Gabe more than 1 Million instagram followers almost overnight.
[The reaction to the iconic photo] is so crazy. I mean, anything that goes viral from surfing, I get happy because it's the sport that I love, and that photo definitely went viral, you know, My Instagram is going crazy. I cannot even follow, it's too much. The photo looks sick, you know. It's pretty cool. But I thought that people were happy because I made my heat, not because of the photo!"
Australia's Jack Robinson is on a collision course with the man taking all the Olympic headlines, Brazil's Gabriel Medina. - ISA
MQF Heat 4: Australia's Jack Robinson vs Australia's Ethan Ewing
In the final countryman vs countryman match-up, Australia's Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing battled for the last spot in the Quarterfinals, knowing whoever won would have to surf against a particularly fired up Medina.
In what ended up being the highest scoring heat of the afternoon, Robinson, needing a score, nabbed a beautiful last wave for an 8.0, more than enough to nudge out Ewing by a little over a two-point margin, and face Medina to surf for his first Olympic Medal.
"It's gonna be a good one," Medina said after finding out he'd be surfing against Robinson. "We've always had great battles, me and Jack. Hopefully the waves show up, you know, so we both can surf. But yeah, he's pretty hard to beat. So it's gonna be a good one."
Quarterfinal Matchups:
France's Kauli Vaast vs Peru's Alonso Correa
Australia's Jack Robinson vs Brazil's Gabriel Medina
Women's Quarterfinal 1: USA's Caroline Marks vs Tyler Wright
In the opening heat of the Women's Quarterfinals, Australian Tyler Wright found herself sent packing by defending World Champion and 2023 Teahupo'o winner Caroline Marks. While Wright's efforts navigating the few messy tunnels on offer proved fruitless, Marks stuck to her patented stylish yet sturdy brand of power surfing on rail, leaving Tyler chasing a midrange score that proved just out of reach.
"Oh, I'm pretty pissed," said Wright after the heat. "But that will pass. I would say I won the start of the heat, in my opinion. She converted the 4, I got the 3.5, and I needed that 2 for a while, and I had that one that ran a lot on the inside and on the corner and almost came out of that and that was probably the heat right there. She had the highest score. So it's really hard to flip.
"Whereas her position, she could flip and kind of chase down a lot of scores where I was in a position where I probably had to sit and wait for something a little bit more coordinated and put together."
"In my perspective, I had really good technical barrel riding skills. That was something that I have really improved on, especially this week. I'm bummed it didn't come down to barrels, because that's what I'm here for. I'm bummed the conditions weren't just slightly better, so it could come down to that because I do really feel like I had a couple of waves today that I was super impressed with, even though I didn't make any of them. So yeah, that's my kind of like post heat review. It's one of those things when you, you kind of roll the dice off the start and then you just play your cards."
After her departure in Tahiti, Wright was asked if she already had any thoughts on Los Angeles 2028 and whether she'll be looking to earn a spot on the Australian team again.
"Yeah, I think if my body holds out, if my like mentality holds out, I'd love to, I'd really love to be a part of it again. But I also understand that the next generations coming through. We'll see what happens. But if I'm still competing and I'm still doing it, I'd love to. It feels different to what we usually do, surfing against a bunch of different competitors, compared to who we usually surf against,that's also really challenging. They compete differently, they think differently. You don't know if they're gonna go or not gonna go or how they move. So it's like a new adaptation of our skills."
Johanne Defay, with Finals Day set, will now give host nation France a chance to medal. - ISA
WQF2: USA's Carissa Moore vs France's Johanne Defay
This afternoon, Teahupo'o looked not unlike a sideshore day at the bluewater lefthand reefpass St. Lieu, on Johanne Defay's home, France's other idyllic tropical surf destination Reunion Island. In one of the most anticipated heats of the day, Defay delivered a steady barrage of backhand hammers against Carissa Moore, despite a heroic effort from the Gold medalist to pick the eyes out of the diminished Tahitian lineup.
"I mean, it's very raw," said a visibly emotional Carissa Moore after her second Gold Medal campaign was cut short. "You put everything you have into something. I put my whole year, I took a chance. I left the tour. I came here and spent months out of the year just trying to do my very best. And when you come up short of a dream, it sucks."
"But at the same point, like, how fun was it? Like, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would have been so bummed if I look back and been like, 'oh, I only did that half-heartedly', you know?"
"I went all in and I just hope that at the end of the day, I can encourage whoever is watching, you know, win or lose. Don't be afraid to go into it fearlessly and don't be afraid to fail. The process has been so much fun. I feel like there's been a lot of personal growth in and out of the water and I'm really proud of my backside barrel riding. I caught some waves I never thought I would have ever caught in my whole life in this process. So obviously, I'm really sad to not be a part of finals day, to get to represent my home and my family one more time. But I'm really grateful and I couldn't have imagined a better place to finish off my career. I mean, that was the plan."
"I announced my departure from the tour earlier on this year. I'm gonna give myself some time to just take a break. It's been full on, you know? It's been full on for my whole life and I'm really proud of that. I'm proud of how I've given everything. I think the last thing I just want to say is, I want to express my gratitude to everybody who been there for me and supported me, not only in this event, but my whole life. It's just nice to have a community behind you."
Pure elation as Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb is set for a shot at the Medal glory. - ISA
WQF3 Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb vs Spain's Nadia Erostarbe
Tatiana Weston-Webb and Nadia Erostarbe left no stones unturned in their Quarterfinal matchup, both the Brazilian and Basque surfers turning on any wave that looked ridable. Weston-Webb relied on her powerful but loose on-rail approach, nabbing mid range scores for two and three turn combos.
Erostarbe can wrap her Olympic debut with her head held high, and knowing the Basque Country is proud of the goofyfoots heroic growth the last few years, and will be rooting for her as she enjoys her newly elevated international profile as she continues her campaign to qualify for the World Championship Tour.
As for Weston-Webb, she'll carry the momentum into the Semifinals of the 2024 Olympics.
"I feel really good," said Tatiana Weston-Webb. "I feel happy. Obviously, today was a really big day for me in terms of making heats and… I'm in the semi final of the Olympics! How can I not be proud of myself? But I know there's a lot of work left to be done and ready to go to work again. Just keep enjoying the good vibes here in Tahiti and, and get ready for whatever's to come."
Brisa Hennessy hopes its pumping for Finals Day as she fights for a medal for Costa Rica - ISA
WQF4 Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy vs Brazil's Luana Silva
In the final heat of the day, Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy and Brazilian Luana Silva ground it out, making the most of the sideshore, warbly conditions. Not a high scoring affair by any means, Hennessy got the nod for back to back low 3s, while Silva struggled to find a wave that would offer opportunity for anything more than a 2.5 and 2.8.
"This board is so beat up, but I love this board," Hennessy said of her trusty Glen Pang after her heat. "It's my old faithful. I smashed my knee into it and then just airplane dings, but it seems to go alright right. We'll hang it up after the medal. That was a really tricky one. I was kind of,, honestly not in the greatest mindset. I kept having to find the inner motivator within me to be like, ‘hey, you're probably gonna have to win ugly in this one. That's ok if you're not dropping, you know, high scores. This is what surfing is'. I knew there was opportunities out there and it was just challenging the way that it was moving. Those, those heats kind of feel the best sometimes because you made it through. I'm like, finally breathing. I often thought that winning is more about relief than it is, like, this is great! Like there's always relief with a win.
I kept on thinking about, I think it was Kobe Bryant," added Hennesy. "He was saying how some people are trying not to lose, some people are trying to win, but he said the best athletes are just trying to figure it out. I think I'm in this process of trying to figure it out. I mean, I have so much to learn and, and I'm loving this journey and I just want to give my best."
Representing Costa Rica, she'll be competing for a Medal in the next round, which will be a huge statement for the Costa Rican community, who missed out on the opportunity to see Carlos Munoz in the 2020 Games due to a nightmare travel SNAFU.
"I mean, it's everything I think that's one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to represent Costa Rica. Obviously, it's a place that I grew up and, you know, found my love for surfing, but I think it's creating more opportunities for the kids over there. I think there's so much talent and it's just about, you know, setting the path and I think bringing to light that it is possible. More opportunities [for Costa Ricans], that's everything for me.
When asked if she would rather grind out the remaining heats in whatever conditions present themselves, or wait until it's pumping, Brisa was charmingly candid.
"Are you kidding me? I hope it's pumping. Definitely. I was telling my mom like this is the first time where I actually feel like I'm doing better when I get barrels than doing turns. I don't know why. I wanna get Cloudy [Cloudbreak, Fiji, next stop on the ‘CT] practice. I think having a strong mindset and really connecting with this place, the more that you surrender to the process and nature and the ocean and to yourself, opportunities come out of nowhere, and it's beautiful."
Brisa will meet Tatiana Weston-Webb in Semifinal 2. The forecast looks, well, interesting. Look for a potential Final's Day August 3rd. Six heats and we crown Gold Medalists.
Here's the match-ups:
- USA's Caroline Marks vs Johanne Defay
- Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy vs Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb
- Australia's Jack Robison vs Brazil's Gabriel Medina
- Peru's Alonso Correa vs. France's Kauli Vaast
Learn more about Teahupo'o here.
Head to the International Surfing Association (ISA) for more information on surfing in the Olympics.