Former professional Aussie surfer Owen Wright believes the surfing events at this month’s Olympic Games stand to be the greatest ever seen.
For the sport’s second instalment in the Games, the open men’s and women’s competitions will be staged at Teahupo’o, a village on the coast of Tahiti in French Polynesia, across five days within a 10-day window from July 27 to August 5.
Already the host to the World Surf League‘s Tahiti Pro, the waves at Teahupo’o are some of the most powerful in the world.
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Owen Wright after winning bronze in the men’s open surfing event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games 9News
With this in mind, Wright, who won bronze in surfing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and has surfed the wave at Teahupo’o many times with great success, reckons the performances at Paris 2024 will be unparalleled.
“The venue itself could present the best surfing we see at the Olympic level in my lifetime,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“They’ve gone to the effort to put surfing in possibly the best location that it could be.
“French Polynesia, Tahiti has the best wave in surfing so we will probably see the best Olympic Games for surfing until the Games return.
“I couldn’t be more excited to see what happens here — this honestly could be the best one we see.”
While extremely entertaining, an aggressive wave does throw up running problems — something Wright expects the competitors at Paris 2024 will have to adapt to.
Owen Wright celebrates after claiming bronze over Gabriel Medina in the men’s bronze medal match. AP
“Each Olympic venue is going to offer up its own challenges,” he said.
“For Tokyo, the challenge was the size of the waves and COVID-19 but Tahiti is going to have its own list of challenges, and, I dare say, these could be with the network connections, the [judges] tower and the size of the waves if they get a giant swell.”
Then, there is also the added safety procedure at Teahupo’o of transporting the athletes back and forth from the channel by boat.
“Boating in and out of the channel can be quite tricky,” Wright said.
“I believe there will be a big boat set up in the lagoon way back in. This will prove tricky for the athletes because they won’t be able to see or get acquainted with the wave as well as they usually would when they sit off the edge of the wave. They won’t be sitting anywhere near it.”
Asked what advice he would give the Australian team bound for Paris — which comprises his sister Tyler, Molly Picklum, Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing — Wright encouraged the group to prepare for all conditions.
Ethan Ewing, Jack Robinson, Tyler Wright and Molly Picklum. Surfing Australia
“Make sure you pack your big boy or big girl pants because it could be 10 to 12 feet at Teahupo’o and scary as all hell, or it could just be fun two feet — be ready for anything,” he said.
“But I know they are and that they’ve been preparing for a long time.
“They’re on track and we’re going to see some great things from our team.”
With all the Olympic surfing action to be beamed on television and computer screens across the country, Wright hopes the success of Australia’s Olympians in Paris will encourage more Aussie children to take up surfing or continue to play sport.
“I have seen the sport expand so much [since becoming part of the Olympics], and where I’ve seen it the most is in schools and with young kids,” he said.
“The WSL broadcast is not shown in schools whereas the Olympics is a subject … with all the Olympic sports on in the classroom. So, I’ve noticed the increase in kids surfing go through the roof.
“It’s also been really cool to see the change in women’s surfing. There are so many young girls in school that are surfing now, and it’s been awesome to see parents getting behind it as well.”
Wright will attend an activation on July 9 at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park, Sydney. With Allianz, Wright has invited local grassroots sporting clubs to experience what it’s like to be cheered on by the nation and make a pledge to continue championing their sport.
