Tahiti’s waves are a matter of ‘life and death’ for Olympic surfers

NPR is in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. For more of our coverage from the games head to our latest updates.

Portugal's Yolanda Hopkins judges the moment and starts paddling as the aqua behemoth surges from behind and begins to curl into the classic barrel shape. It's looking good for the Paris Olympics competitor, until suddenly she is swallowed in a blast of white spray, disappearing under the water.

This is the second Olympics to feature surfing — with Hopkins and others beginning on the weekend — but it’s the first time competitors are riding waves that are a matter of “life or death,” according to professional big wave surfer Garrett McNamara.

This year, surfers will be competing at Teahupo’o — part of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti that’s more than 9,000 miles from Paris.

Teahupo’o can experience 40-50 foot waves, but it’s not just the size that makes the challenge unique — it’s also the large, shallow reef.

“It's one of the most beautiful and dangerous waves in the world,” McNamara told NPR. “It is just life or death from start to finish, big or small. The razor-sharp coral reef is just inches below you when you fall.”

“It’s not like other waves. Usually, you can see these giant swells on the horizon. At Teahupo'o … the whole ocean moves forward. You don't see lines coming.”

“Once [the waves] get close to the reef, the whole bottom drops out. And the water that's on the reef in front of you sucks off the reef somewhat like a waterfall and goes down below sea level. And then the wave curls over and the lip of the wave basically detonates on [the] reef.”

McNamara said surfers need to judge the incoming waves, get into the barrel quickly, exit before it breaks on the reef and then quickly dodge the incoming wave.

“I've had so many horrendous wipeouts there. It's not even funny,” he said.

Still, it’s exactly these conditions that lures some surfers.

“When it’s getting big, it’s the heaviest wave in the world for me and the most perfect wave in the world,” Tahiti's Kauli Vaast told Olympics.com. “You have to be very focused because if you fall, you can hit the reef and that’s the danger. That’s why Teahupo'o is dangerous, so you have to be smart, calm and focused."

For Olympic surfer Sol Aguirre, being able to ride Tahiti’s waves means more than just a medal.

“It is a super special, incredible, super intense wave and it fills you with many emotions at the same time,” Aguirre told Olympics.com. “It is something that brings out the best in you and makes you grow as a person.”

So far, the waves haven’t caused real issues for surfers in the opening days of competition.

The waves slowly built on day one, and then were smaller and had fewer barrels on day two, according to Associated Press, which reported that the conditions favored some surfers who were less experienced on the typically larger waves of Teahupo’o.

The decision to host the surfing feats in Tahiti was entirely purposeful. The Olympic committee said it wanted to highlight French territories worldwide, not just the country itself.

Teahupo’o itself has a storied history in the surfing world. It’s hosted the Pro Tahiti championship event for at least 20 years and will host the World Surf Championship Tour after the Olympic Games.

The island’s surfing history goes back to when Tahitian warriors took up surfing to train for battle. People in other Polynesian communities expressed it as an art form.

The surfing finals in the Olympics are scheduled for Tuesday evening, Eastern Time.