Fitting that Finals Day landed on the final day of the Olympic waiting period, letting newcomers to the sport get a taste of the patience required sometimes to be a surf fan while the rest of us crossed our fingers that the swell forecast to arrive on Monday afternoon peeked around the eastern coast of Tahiti earlier than later.
Enjoying their downtime in the idyllic Tahitian village, the eight surfers left in the draw all knew that if they made it through their semifinal heats, not only would they be surfing for Gold, but they'd most likely be competing in world-class Teahupo'o.
Semifinal 1: Peru's Alonso Correa vs France's Kauli Vaast
First heat in the water on Finals Day of what has been long touted as surfing's real debut in the Olympics, 2x Pan American Gold Medal is Alonso Correa, from 2023 ISA Gold Medalists, Team Peru versus the local star surfing for Team France, Kauli Vaast, with the home-field advantage.
Kauli made quick work of the anemic Teahupo'o conditions, ripping into a few turns for a 4.0. He and Alonso collected 2s and 3s for simply staying busy in the lineup instead of waiting for the occasionally larger pulse. Just over halfway through the heat, Alonso took the lead over the local with a 3.77 and then quickly picked up a 5.6, the highest score of the hat so far for a stylish floater to airdrop into a proper frontside hack, putting Kauli against the ropes.
Local Tahitian Kauli Vaast representing France, strategically connected a couple combo's needed to move on to the Gold Medal Match. - ISA
The local boy tucked into a quick pit and finished the wave with a powerful forehand smash, taking back the lead with a 5.86 and then extending it with a 5.13.
The 22-year-old from just over the mountain headed to the finals of the 2024 Olympics.
Brazil's Gabriel Medina vs Australia's Jack Robinson
Things started to heat up slowly, with the biggest national rivalry of the men's draw, Semifinal Heat 2: Brazil's 3x World Champ Gabriel Medina and Tahiti Pro winner, Australia's Jack Robinson.
Gabe got the best of the opening exchanges, the best score of the day so far for a powerful combo and a 6.77, while Jack's answer back - a vertical lip bash and two-turn closer nabbed a 4.5.
Jack Robinson was able to get in rhythm and dropped a near-excellent score that secired him a ticket to the Gold medal showdown versus Local Kauli Vaast. - ISA
But Jack's third wave was the first of the day that really looked like Teahupo'o-a lengthy, clean pig dog pit followed by a radical vertical lip bash for a near-excellent 7.83.
Needing better than a 6 at the halfway mark, Gabriel Medina sat with priority with five minutes remaining hoping something showed on the horizon. Five minutes later, he was left hoping for a better result in the Bronze-medal surf-off against Alonso Correa, while Jack Robinson was headed to meet Kauli Vaast in the final.
France's Johanne Defay vs USA's Caroline Marks
In the first Women's Semifinal, Johanne Defay got busy, grinding out a respectable two-turn combo, dropping an opening 5.67, then backed it up with a comparable backhand two turn attack and a 4.00, and leaving Caroline Marks chasing two scores less than five minutes into the heat.
Unshaken, Caroline picked off the best looking wave of the heat, with a running, long, clean open face and commenced a four-turn barrage of clean swoops and a closing tailslide lip bash.
USA's Caroline Marks finding gems along the reef for solid scores. - ISA
The Floridian grabbed priority and waited patiently for a stretched out open face with a west bowl on it, racing into the bowl after a cheeky check turn, stalling for the pit and sneaking out the doggy door.
Johanne was right behind her on the next wave, delivering two vertical lip bashes and riding out of a particularly turbulent closeout section on the shallow ridge of the inner Teahupo'o ledge.
Caroline took the lead briefly with her 5.0, but Johanne's came in as the highest score of the hat so far, a 6.5.
In the next exchange, Caroline capitalized on the best wave of the heat, retaking the lead over the regular-foot from Reunion Island with a 7.
With a minute left, Johanne pulled the trigger on the first of a two-wave set, hammering a first turn but slipping off on her closer. Caroline had to duck dive the next wave, which has more than enough potential for Johanne's requirement, and as the wave peeled off unridden Caroline Marks rolled into the Finals of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb vs Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy
Tatiana Weston-Webb drew first blood with a small runner, racing the east reef into a clean swoop and slight slip on her closing turn, for a 2.67. Brisa Hennessy's answer back was anything but dramatic, a quick two-swoop in and out for a 1.93-but what happened after certainly was. While the broadcast was busy with a whale breaching on the horizon, the camera came back to Brisa Hennessy riding in front of an in-priority Brisa Hennessy, a certain priority interference with absolutely zero context.
Tatiana Weston-Webb getting it done to keep it moving for a chance at Gold. - ISA
The replay a few minutes later showed Tati feign disinterest briefly, with Brisa looking on, before both women commenced head-down stroked into a clean wave. Brisa never looked back. In the slow-mo replay, you could literally see Tati say "Brisa!" behind her, startling the Costa Rican as she became brutally aware of her mistake.
Knowing it would cost her a scoring wave, Brisa picked off a quick two-turn combo, followed by a blistering three-turn combo for a 5.33. She quickly backed it up with a 4, leaving Brisa chasing something better than 9.33 combined total for a single wave.
Tati shut the door with a 5.33, putting the heat out of reach of the Costa Rican, who was headed to surf for Bronze against Johanne Defay.
Men's Bronze Medal Matchup: Peru's Alonso Correa vs Brazil's Gabriel Medina
After surfing out of his skin his first three waves, and establishing a healthy lead, Alonso Correa got visibly frustrated with a priority call, after paddle battling Gabriel Medina into the lineup after a radical two-wave exchange. While scores trickled in Alonso expressed his dismay to the cameras sitting just outside of Gabe to demonstrate his position, literally.
But Gabe remained stone cold and commenced to absolutely dismantle-not only a handful of the best waves of the entire day-but also the Peruvian goofyfoots Bronze Medal dreams.
After losing to Kanoa Igarashi in a hotly contested 2020 Tokyo bronze surf off, Gabe Medina brings home a well-deserved Olympic Medal to Maresias, Brazil.
"That was my goal coming here, I really want to get a Medal, and today I had two opportunities," said Gabriel Medina after taking home the Bronze."It was a tricky one to deal with but I'm happy that I gave my all. Going to with Alonso, I was thinking, "please waves come. I just want to have opportunities to surf, so the waves showed up a little more and I'm happy with my win.
"Jack did a really good job. He got the best wave of the heat and it is what it is. Him and John are amazing surfers. They always push me a lot, and they bring the best out of me because they are so good, you gotta work hard to beat them."
"I really wanted to be in this final but, you know, God's already given me so much-so many waves, so many good results. I did it giving my all and I just feel good. I'm not sad. I'm so happy right now, the job is done finally. I reached my goal, you know, which is getting the medal. It's something different than on the tour. This is different for me. It touched more the country, the big picture, a lot of people watching-I think everyone watched surfing, and we had great waves in this contest. [His photo going viral] was crazy. So many followers, so many messages, that photo turned like iconic. And as I said, I think surfing wins, you know? Everyone is watching and paying attention."
Women's Bronze Medal Matchup: Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy vs France's Johanne Defay
The grit and resilience was palpable in Johanne Defay and Brisa Hennessy's opening exchanges, with both surfers coming off tough losses, and both looking visibly fired up for the last opportunity to bring home an Olympic Medal for their representative countries.
Johanne looked solid, pushing plumes of spray on her backhand, surfing clean and strong, ending up on the dry reef after showing full commitment to a closing turn on her third wave unfazed. Her next wave extended her lead against the Costa Rican.
Brisa looked poised for a proper pit on her second wave, but got cut down by a lurchy section.
The rest of the heat would have felt like an uphill battle for Brisa, who looked on as Johanne pisces the eyes out of the Teahupo'o reef, dropping hard-earned high-6's and 5's for respectable backhand hooks and one particularly clean mid-sized barrel.
France's Defay elated to capture the Bronze medal. - ISA
Your 2024 Bronze Medalist, Reunion Island's Johanne Defay.
"A lot of relief, I think that was the most stressful day," Johanne said after winning her first Olympic Medal. "To be honest, I don't think we can do much more out there right now. A couple of waves were barreling, but it was really, very hard backside, because it's very small. The strategy was to do more turns, get a couple of waves, don't sit out there and wait, which you can easily do, just because it's so perfect."
"I'm a little bit out of words. [Winning Bronze] means so much. I have received just so many messages, and It just puts everything in perspective. It's just such a lifetime opportunity. To get that medal and to represent France and to represent my team, and everybody that has made sacrifices, the Medal is what you get in return."
Men's Gold Medal Match France's Kauli Vaast vs Australia's Jack Robinson
Three minutes in and Kauli Vaast and Jack Robinson began an onslaught of high scoring, technically ridden barrels, three in a row-Kauli, Jack, Kauli-with both Kauli's back-to-back pits coming in higher, at a 9.5 and a 8.17 than Jack's 7.83.
The next twenty minutes would have been the longest of Jack's life, the young father and student of Leandro Dora's school of quiet warrior mindfulness patiently watching the clock run down, looking to the horizon for, well, an Olympic miracle: a wave with the potential for near-excellence, a 9.84 or better.
As the seconds ran out of the heat, it began to sink into the local community: Tahiti's 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist, Kauli Vaast.
"It was gonna be a good match," said Silver Medalist Jack Robinson. "I felt like it was whoever was gonna be on the best waves because we could both ride them. It was his moment."
Local Kauli Vaast claiming it as he drops a almost perfect 9.50 enroute to Gold. - ISA
"I feel amazing. You know, the inner competitor wants to go one better, but it's such a long ride that I've been on and it's really just getting into the best part of it right now. I've got a lot more to come. I'm just grateful to be healthy and ready to go for the next one. I'm so fulfilled. I get to take this whole experience and take the momentum. I get to go for the World Title at the end of the year. This is just another special moment along that journey. I visualize the moment so much that now it feels like I'm right where I'm meant to be, man. I'm blessed, you know, you dream of this as a kid. I'm right where I'm meant to be. I'm grateful for that." And where will Jack be putting his Silver Medal? "My son, he can hang [the Medal] in his room. He just got his new room, so we'll put it there for him."
Women's Gold Medal Match Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb vs USA's Caroline Marks
The final heat of surfing at the 2024 Paris Olympics started slow, with both goofyfoots dropping anchor and patiently waiting for a proper wave to materialize out of the South Pacific as promised. Earlier heats had seen flurries, though they both would have been thinking about Jack and Gabe's single-wave heats just prior.
More than ten minutes into the 35-minute heat, Tatiana Weston-Webb swung too late on the first solid wave to come through and got tossed. Caroline Marks grabbed the next wave but it didn't offer anything worth staying on for and she pulled out to keep priority.
Twenty minutes left, only scores on the board: Mark's .5 vs Weston-Webb's .33
Things got going around the halfway mark, as Caroline chipped into a beautiful, tall, thin-lipped pit and got cleanly puffed into the channel for a 7.5 and a commanding upperhand in the inconsistent conditions. Tati clawed back, double-hand dragging into a mid-sized quick pit, resetting her feet, then commencing to hammer four turns to the channel and fight back into the heat with a 5.83.
Caroline left the door even more open, falling on her next wave and giving Tati priority, but got scrappy on the way back out grabbing a solid inside double-up for a 3, to secure a back up score for her 7.5.
After Caroline fell at the finish line of a long, foamy barrel, and needing only a 4.68, Tati capitalized on the mid-sized wave behind it, throwing everything she had into a series of powerful turns and an incredibly committed bonus bash onto dry reef.
USA's Caroline Marks victorious! - ISA
The score came in just seconds after the clock ran out: a 4.5.
With that, Caroline Marks adds a Gold Medal to a trophy case that includes the 2023 World Title, as well as a Rookie of the Year.
After finishing in the dying hours of the event waiting period, here are your 2024 Olympic Medalists:
Gold:
- USA's Caroline Marks
- France's Kauli Vaast
Silver:
- Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb
- Australia's Jack Robinson
Bronze:
- France's Johanne Defay
- Brazil's Gabriel Medina
Learn more about Teahupo'o here.
Head to the International Surfing Association (ISA) for more information on surfing in the Olympics.