Olympics 2024: Day Two
Olympics 2024: Day Two
Another enthralling, engrossing day of Olympic competition wrapped at Teahupoo with the full sixteen heats of Mens and Womens Second Rounds completed in highly variable conditions with highly variable performances.
The eight heats of womens Round 2 continued to highlight the skillset spectrum but did unearth another true dark horse in Israeli surfer Anat Leior. Whilst her upcoming Round 3 match with dual World Champion Tyler Wright does look a mismatch on paper, Leior has some things in her favour. True tube-riding skills, for one. Tyler is improving on the backside rail grab but would be less well favoured against a competent goofy who is comfortable in the steep and deep. For another, this is Leior's second Olympics so she will have, what in WSL parlance, is called “comfortability” in her favour.
Anat Leior (ISA/Jimenez)
Continuity in the Olympic team is not something in Australia's favour. Team USA's Olympic squad from Tokyo is largely unchanged. Carissa, Caz, and JJF return. Only Kolohe is gone, subbed out for title contender Griffin Colapinto. Of the 2021 Aussie team: Owen, Julian Wilson, Steph Gilmore, and Sally Fitzgibbon, all are retired or could not make the team. That has to count for something.
Leior, as said, has a proper skill set to tackle small/medium-sized Chopes and could be a genuine threat to Wright. Mismatches in the draw will be a huge factor, moreso in the women's side of competition.
Chinese teen Siqi Yang snuck through because her competitor Sol Aguirre was not Teahupoo capable. She will get smoked in Round 3 by Caz Marks.
Of the non-CT women surfing today apart from Leior only Sarah Baum (10.50 total) and Matsuda Shino (9.77) were able to successfully ride and exit the tube. Sarah will be demolished by Carissa Moore in Round 3 and Shino will have a non-CT match-up with Nadia Erostarbe, who is in scintillating form.
Molly Picklum, in her post-heat presser, said it was a privilege to go into the games as a Gold Medal favourite. Owen Wright later offered succour to Aussie fans after her loss to Johanne Defay by asserting Picklum had been in “outstanding form”. Both statements seem hubristic, if not outright delusional in retrospect.
Molly Picklum (ISA/McKenna)
Pickles was bundled out after another patchy performance with a total of 7.43, which would have lost all but two of the Round 2 heats conducted today. She failed to exit wide open barrels and could not convert when Defay faltered. Her Opening Round heat of 8.44 was only marginally better. Two sub-10 points heats at small, fun, perfect Chopes and bundled out in last place is no time to reference Gold Medal favouritism. Her last two sub-10 point totals at the Olympics were backed up in her last three starts at Teahupoo of 4.17, 7.73, 3.17. Five consecutive heats at Chopes in good to awesome surf and Pickles is yet to break double figures. That does not spell an athlete in “outstanding form”. That shows a professional surfer with either some serious flaws in her game or someone who has believed her own hype and has let ego get dangerously untethered from reality. Pickles will pull it back into line - she's too good not to. Let's hope it's pre-Cloudbreak.
Some draws, as suggested, will be one-sided. Others will see CT'ers and medal hopes against each other. Caity and Tatiana go head to head in Round 3, which could be a medal match. Caity could conceivably go through on almost pure CT match-ups, which would make any Olympic medal even more merit-worthy. For us, at least. History does not record, nor care about these things.
Caity Simmers (ISA/McKenna)
We'll remember some high points and who won gold. Pretty easy to pick the memorable high points today. The last two heats of the day with Jack Robbo vs Lucca Mesinas and Filipe Toledo vs Billy Stairmand featured the waves of the day.
Both underdogs played a strategy game. Trying to establish priority and hold a too-deep position. Both efforts backfired, as they usually do. There is one surfer on Earth who can win those games and his name is Gabriel Medina, and if you count the times it has backfired on him (interference calls) you'd be well advised to coach a different strategy.
Heat 7 with Jack and Mesinas got a re-start, Heat 8 did not. Those calls, as well as subsequent priority calls were arbitrary. Rideable west bowls came through for Jack and Lucca. Both surfers paddled equally for a wave they missed. Neutral priority and no heat restart could have been an outcome. Instead, with the scramble, and surfers out of position for a bomb set, they gave priority to Jack. That was a key decision. In effect, it sealed Lucca's fate. Another bomb set arrived and there was no way Jack was going to be caught out a second time. He nailed the deep tube ride with perfect execution and came out after the spit. That type of ride, on that type of wave, is a 9+ wave every day of the week. The ultimate demonstration of Teahupoo being a simple place to surf, as long as everything is millimetre perfect in execution.
An example too, of why Olympic surfing can never prosper in a wave-pool. There was pushback on my statement yesterday that moving to a tub would be a sign of panic and fatal ploy as far as attracting any interest from the general public. Jack's wave now will make every highlight package on Earth. A pure magic moment. Nothing of that magnitude and spectacle could ever come from a wave-pool, at least until nuclear fusion is perfected and tubs can produce genuine size.
Tubs offer a fair venue, I grant you that. But we don't watch a surfing competition because it's fair.
Au contraire, mon ami. We watch because it's unfair. Because waves like Jack's bomb can rise up out of nowhere and deliver us sublime moments of magic. We watch to see pitiful human beings subject themselves to uncaring and vast natural forces which make a mockery of our wretched little plans and then marvel when those plans do come to fruition.
We watch because our current World Champ has a petit probleme with hollow lefts and had the balls to show up to the Olympics in front of the world and spear a perfect bomb set, riding deep inside before getting spat out in a shroud of golden spray.
Filipe Toledo (at top ISA/McKenna, below ISA/Ryder)
That's nutty stuff. It just doesn't happen in the tub. Surfing was exactly what it is today, and that was enough. More than enough.
Even if it's days in the Olympics are numbered, it will now always have this highwater mark to look back on in awe.
Last thought: The Men's Round 3 draw is equally as brutal as the Women's. CT scalps ready to join the wall of skulls when they go again.
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
Mistake! You wrote Owen not Tyler!!!
I write this from care and an opportunity to fix. Please delete my comment once you notice and fix it.
Owen was commentating.
OH!!! Sorry then. I thought it was a silly mistake (obviously).
Haha. Their is another typo though, l think Robbo nailed the deep tube ride, not “tide”.
Cheers
'There'
Excellent write up Steve
Limited wave opportunities.... calm nerves & strategy wins.
&t=5s
Sharpeye vs DHD vs Mayham..
Looks like so much fun out there.
Enjoyed the write up again. Got stuck in important work stuff most of the day after watching Saffis meltdown and helmet throwing this morning.
So I ran the record on sky all day and have just watched back the replays now. Kept away from SM and news so I didn't know the result of Billy's heat. Just watched it now and Billy gave it a good nudge but Filipe got two bombs. But super entertaining even though it wasn't huge.
Will it run tomorrow?
pooman where did you watch the replays...fuked if i can find them
Simba I actually pushed record on my sky decoder in nz. So I recorded the whole day and fast forwarded through the slow heats. Really hard to find replays anywhere ay
Good comp wrap. But I would have thought an updated Swell forecast be included and it's implications?
Coming tomorrow.
I don't know how to forecast but it seems to look good on Windy for the final few days. Looks offshore wind with a big low bringing a SW to S swell.
Second this
How good was Fil. I thought he'd gone over the falls and about to eat a Tahitian buffet of corals and small invertebrates
But No, what? from where?
Roar away champ, I'll start eating my keyboard now
Pickles has to talk to Ash about the transition from supergrom to tour pro
Thanks for your writeups
Haven't seen it but credit to him.
Hopefully a confidence booster for him.
Not ready to start eating my keyboard yet though.
Went down to the local sports bar on NL . No punters in sight just 2 indo workers with their eyeballs glued to their phones . Asked if they were showing the olympics on any of their 8 tvs . They didn’t even look up and said what’s olympics ? They honestly didn’t know what the olympics were . Asked if the boss was around, “ no sorry, ceremony “ They did have surfing footage on just not what I was looking for . Hopefully they can get their shit together by finals day .
Hahaha
Crackup! I don't think they'll show it, it's only streaming on m.vidio in Indo. Your best bet is a VPN and Channel 9 Oz
Last month I tried to watch the French Open final on NL, but na, only the footy
How are seeds determined
I'm pretty sure the seeds were determined at the last ISA games in Puerto Rico. Some of the CT surfers didn't turn up, as they had already guaranteed qualification and others only did what they had to do to qualify, so therefore, have lower seeds than usually expected for them.
It's a shame that there's a couple of heats where top surfers are against each other early ie. JJ vs Jack and Caity vs Tatty but I guess that does happen other times.
Surfing may be harder to win on variable waves, winds & wims; compaired to splitting hairs in the clinical swimming, track and field events...
eg. hurdles; just 0.2 seconds by a nose for gold
“ That shows a professional surfer with either some serious flaws in her game or someone who has believed her own hype and has let ego get dangerously untethered from reality. ”
Loved this
Females have always been the weaker sex, who can blame young women for hesitating in waves of consequence.
You're a fool. Women are just as tough as men. Studies have also proven women [in general] have a higher pain threshold than men.
...also you're calling Fillepe Toledo a woman because he hesitates?? He may not be brave but considering he has fathered a child, my guess he HAS a pair of nuts and is a male
You’re a fool, who has the best time in the 100 metres running, swimming etc how come the number 1 woman tennis player in the world wouldn’t rate in the men’s draw, how come women can’t do airs anywhere near as the men, and I wasn’t even thinking about Felipe Toledo , it’s his option to pull out if he wants to . Strength has nothing to do with pain threshold, that’s why so many women are coherced by their partners.Your the delusional one!
You equate "weaker" only with physicality? What about mental weakness?
I'm obviously not arguing that women are as physically strong as men, but what separates the men from the boys out at chopes is NOT their physical strength but their mental strength. Can you acknowledge that? or does that make you feel weak and inferior.
No it just means women haven’t got the same skill level as men and are going to wipe out more , and not have the same strength to handle the beat downs as well. So you think all women should man up like the men when they’re not men, they’re women. Mental strength is no good if you’re going to keep wiping out.How come they just called Chopes off for the women but not the men , Einstein. Sounds like you feel inferior for failing your psychology diploma !
Surfing is also a sport where you're physical size makes no difference whatsoever. Look at the physicality difference between say two world champs like Barton Lynch and Tom Carrol. Barton is a tall bean stalk and Tom is a 4ft tall brick. Surfing is about timing, not strength. Kelly Slater was always fit but NEVER the strongest guy on tour. It was his impeccable timing and imaginations that made him the best surfer ever.
So how come you rarely see women free surfing or towing into bombs at Chopes or Jaws?
I tried being logical about your comments........I'm not interested in your childish click-bait replies.
over and out
have a nice day
Yes you logically lost the argument, and resort to click bait comments and bad psychology again!
What was the point of it all, mate?
You may 'logically' be correct but what's added to the conversation? How does it expand anyone's view?
If someone calls me a fool for pointing out women can’t run as fast as men then I’m going to disagree, sorry about that
I'm not calling you a fool, however your first comment was foolish.
Adds nothing constructive, feeds into the modern gender wars, invites criticism.
Just means we shouldn’t expect women to go as hard in waves of consequence as men do,
...and there's lots of ways to word that isn't there?
There's also lots of ways to view it. I'd say very few surfers expected women surfing to improve as fast as it has been, what with Molly's performance at Sunset and Pipe, plus Caity at Pipe and many other waves.
Knowing that, it's a brave - perhaps foolish - person who now places limits on women surfing before the groundswell of teenage phenoms have even come of age.
Except I’m not the one that’s laying it on Molly now because she did so well at Pipe and Sunset, but failed at Chopes . Looking at the wipeout she took in free surfing Chopes , maybe that affected her confidence!
I read a sports reporter making a gender-free observation about form.
But calling it her ‘own hype’ when the hype came from everyone in the Australian media, is a bit inaccurate.
Perhaps, but that's not what you were arguing is it?
No but that’s what originally got my attention, putting too much pressure on impressionable young people.
1) Again, that's not what you argued.
2) They're not 'impressionable young people', they're professional sportspeople.
3) They dont need you to save them by putting them in a box.
Perhaps, maybe I should have just called out the ‘ her own hype’ comment which you might agree with, instead of trying to explain it.
Hehe ...Juliang got woked
Strength and athleticism doesn't really come into play with surfing outside of paddle fitness/strength and the chicks have shown they have enough to surf the craziest waves. Same with skateboarding. I think Sierra Kerr will suprise you when she comes on tour.
Obviously there’s a few stand outs , but how many women do you see towing into bombs at Chopes or Jaws?
So is Molly writing cheques she can’t cash?
In addition to the comment about being a gold medal favourite (I’d say Vahine, Tati, Carissa, Caity and co would beg to differ), Molly had this to say, “As soon as I got here, I was thinking, I wanna do this again,”.
Is the lack of confidence being masked as over confidence? Or, is there an element of delusion?
Recent inconsistent performances are probably down to good old youth and inexperience. Someone with all the talent in the world swimming against the stream a bit too much.
Maybe needs to have a chat to Griff and Jack for tips on calming the farm and staying in the moment.
Only time will tell.
excellent analysis, thanks for your coverage Steve. It has been an emotional ride and lots of fun to watch.
Who gave Molly the hype in the first place?
After pipe and sunset she earned it
A closeout reo at Sunset , no matter how good , doesn’t equate to a backhand barrel at Chopes
You miss seeing the massive one she went before the contest at Chopes this year?
Also her 10 point ride at Pipeline?
Her hype was warranted.
And now we’re criticising her for going off her game, because our expectations were so high.
media can often misquote, distorts, hype, dramatise, pressurize, demolalise... for advertising, $, etc
surfing feels good... an excuse for a great riff, mix & production
Fun conditions and some nice waves albeit inconsistent. I think ‘spearing a bomb set’ definitely needs some context to the days overall conditions. I saw it more as mum no hands, I actually did it. I had nothing to be scared of. Let’s hope for a miracle and the forecast turns a corner and snoop replaces cote and Shannon in commentary.
So Olympic surfing is akin to the firefighters who were first on the scene at the Chernobyl disaster. They’re sitting up, playing cards - all the crew - happy, laughing, looking good, and feeling really good, in the aftermath of their finest hour.
But the Doctors looking on know the truth, they’re already dead.
I’m not so pessimistic. No matter how jaded or cynical one gets towards the Olympics, they always seem to deliver. And so it will be with surfing.
I reckon Huntington LA and Dbah Goldy will serve to consolidate surfing’s status as an Olympic sport.
These cities will be all in - surfing being such an important part of their modern culture and identities. The crowds on the beaches will be huge, and into it. And the prestige of an Olympic medal will have become a goal of far greater significance for a pro surfer.
And they’ll get waves. Waves good enough to produce all sorts of acrobatics from these Olympians. Whose skills will have progressed exponentially in four, eight years. ‘Athletes’ taking to the tubs with the assistance of HPC biomechanics coaches to advance their technique, cos they know that’s what they’ll need to get a medal at these Games at these venues. I think it’ll be fascinating to see the improvements this focus will produce.
Big knowledgeable crowds, cultural caché, futuristic cutting edge performances, a little bit of the charm of competitors from the ‘lesser nations’, and big stakes to play for will more than compensate for the lack of A grade waves.
Couldn't disagree more, with almost every point.
But we'll see- quite happy to eat crow if your vision is the correct one.
flow
To counter, to wit:
YOU watch Teahupo’o because you can appreciate the technicalities of barrel riding that the general public cannot.
My guess is they’d be bored shitless by most of yesterday, and wonder why Robinson’s tube was scored so much higher than Yang’s multiple backhand hacks, save for the size of the wave.
And I would imagine that a wavepool would be far more entertaining for this type of casual viewer. Not only do they see equality and consistency of conditions (not being able to appreciate the randomness and luck associated with riding waves), but they see more variety of manoeuvres and in a context they not only recognise but likely have experienced.
Plus, what about surfers competing in this lonely outpost, far away from the thrum of Olympic experience? Which of them really wants that?
My guess is that if surfing has an Olympic future, then it probably lies in a wavepool.
Welcome to swellnet !
I lurk! Mainly just to perv on Steve.
Fastest way to get a casual viewer's eyes to glaze over and enter a comatose state is to put them in front a wave pool comp.
I can hold my breath for longer.
Mate, we are 8 years into this tub experiment by now!
4 or 5 CT comps.
We don't need to speculate anymore.
The data is conclusive: it's boring as batshit- at the elite level.
They will never understand surfing, but at least they can have some kind of emotional reaction to beauty and danger.
Who cares what the general public think? This shouldn't be about trying to please everyone. Do they dumb down any other niche sports sports for the sake of the general public? I have no idea what's really going on in any of the martial arts... and I was clueless during the Rugby 7s last night. That's sport.
They've continually shortened cricket for the general public. Collectively with tiktok and shit, our concentration has never been shorter.
If round 3's bombs today don't get the interest of the casual viewer, then nothing can.
Whilst I appreciate your artistic license Steve, Felipe never got spat out in a shroud of golden spray. He rode a four foot barrel as well as you would expect a reigning world champion to, but then claimed it like he had been spat into the channel at Jaws on a thirty foot day. I pray the third round is held in 8 foot west bowls, even though I know it won’t.
yep that line confused me too, I'd say the author was either on the usual thesaurus roll as has been known to over sauce the sausage and metaphor.....or perhaps got sidetracked dreaming off being covered in golden spray. With Olympic write ups use the word golden, only when the medal has been awarded.
Yep! That’s how I saw it. At least closer to your version than FR’s.
But there is room enough in this universe for a minor difference of opinion.
The spray was definitely golden.
It may not have been a bomb.
Third round held in... wait for it... 8 foot west bowls. Worth a watch ya'll.
Who would have thought hey ?. I even bought a subscription to Stan for one month, just for the pleasure of watching Felipe deliver on all the hype he promised in round 2 and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Good write up Steve. Saw a few heats. Bit slow, and still a multi speed economy in terms of ability.
For those that have surfed chopes, at that size is it still intimidating for a competent surfer?
Skateboarding is good viewing.
"bombs"
wake up Steve!
Why should Olympic surfing be the same as tour comps?
(Lulls and priority rubbish are what will kill it as an Olympic sport, if anything.)
It's not really about "We", or why we do it.
Olympics are about showcasing a sport, athletic performance, to the world, once every four years.
It's not a tourism award. per se. so they will never have a backdrop like Tahiti again, so what.
That means it's "doomed"?
I'm still not buying that Steve.
Doubt the ISA would either.
They have realised breakdancing is dancing, not sport, so it went.
Karate got chopped not because it's not popular enough, the IOC criteria starts with popularity, but because it was Tai Kwon Do only and karate politics got involved, so they said it was not entertaining enough and had concerns about it's "youth appeal".
The IOC is making way for sports with "youth appeal". Hence surfing and skateboarding.
Huntington and Snapper/Qld. might not have the end of the road reef or backdrop, but they will both have massive crowds, massive. Youth appeal up the ying yang.
Surfing won't be getting the arse. Jack's barrel won't be the high point, just a good start.
And as a pool comp. Olympics surfing would go off too.
Sure, it's not what we surf for, it's pool surfing, but it's performance surfing ready made for a different type of format, the Olympic format.
Look at the skateboarding, best of two runs plus tricks. Same arena for all, street course or whatever they call it.
It's not all there is to skateboarding,
No beautiful backdrops or dreamy vistas or huge gnarly ramps.
I don't think skateboarding will be going anywhere either. Here to stay. Too popular, too much youth appeal.
And no lulls, no priority rubbish to confuse the punters, no waiting for a canvas to perform on, no lay days because of conditions, except maybe rain.
Lock it in with the broadcaster years out.
The pool would work.
I agree with Stu, personally, why would you want to let even more into our sport, why would you want to make it more popular therefore crowded.
But that's my selfishness. It's here now.
Budgets are limited, sports all vie for money and inclusion, they drop some., they bring in some, they test some.
Surfing's case for inclusion is only going to get stronger. Like the ISA will as the sports Olympic rep.
It isn't doomed.
The opposite I think.
We will know in a decade or so, I'll be in my 70's then if I make it that far, so really don't GAF.
Probably don't GAF now.
But think it's Olympic future is pretty secure, and think it suits the pool.
And I watched Siqi own her heat and competitor with a solid backhand attack too. Thought that deserved mentioning.
She won't go further I agree.
tbb only sees variations of Surfing in Man Made Olympic Wave Pools.
Happy to example a premium swellnet exclusive comparison where possible!
2024 Olympic Wavepool Nautical Stadium
https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/venues/vaires-sur-marne-nautical-stadium
$125m for 2.2km x 2.2km Rowing Course / Beach / WavePool / Training Centre / Gym.
Searched for Separate River Wave pool Course...only shares combo cost! (Nearest UK price adjusted)
...................Wavepool .................Teahupoo
Construction 2019.................1970's Artificially cut channels billow & plunge Ocean breached Lagoons
Cost $100m (Approx)...........$40m min' + 50yrs of Prolific bastardised reef cut Lagoon Networks
Capacity : 13,327/day.............600/day
Tickets $115-$340..................VIPs / Locals Ballot
Hire.........$60hr...........................$40/hr Wave access via Water Taxis thru said artificial cut channels.
Surfers ......84..............................48
Ride Length 210m ...................80m
Wave Height..1.7m-3.6m.......1.7m-3.6m > (Comps)
Speed ........47km/hr...................35km/hr
Gold Flag Bearer Jess .............Owen (Bronze)
Points to consider :
River Wave Pool is ever ready & race action is constant (vs) Massive Ocean often nods off mid comp.
Mass of Common crowds line the River Wave (vs) Ocean Comp is for rare VIPs or Lucky Few!
River Wavepool Comps have established Olympic legacy > Check our Hero Chick Jess.
Highest paid Athletes would or could surf either without loss of income.
More about popularity (vs) Career Income even wider reaching audience are another story!
Likely that Jess will be on every Telly Show but earn less than surfers when competing! Whatever!
Basically both Venues are fed & stoked by bastardized Cut & Detoured Rivers / Lagoons
Ironically both are driven by downward Heavier Ocean Force (vs) Rapid River Force.
Can check the lesser powerful but much Faster River Rapid Wave ride Speeds if surfed at full speed.
Difficult to say which Olympic Wave Venue is least or more natural...
Clear to all that neither can pump out 'Iconic' ramped Wave Power without Mankind's intervention...
Ocean has smashed successive end of the Road Towns & gobbled the ocean road up to Teahupoo.
Beach hang Early 1960's Teahupoo Local claims no waves broke there thru the 1960's
New Council refused to waste more money on more of these successive end of the road towns.
Decided to Cut a Water Taxi Canal Network that rushes mass Lagoons! to fuel Channel Wave Faces!
Then the same local saw waves break in the channel & was first to start surfing early 70's waves!
That's what Town history records...there is no other earlier mention of waves or wrecks in this channel.
Teahupoo is a Man made Mutant Wave just as a Wave Pool only with an idyllic lush Backdrop.
Any talk of Age Old tribal wave resembling new massively bastardized mutant wave is hard to believe.
It would bare little to no resemblance to today's mutated lagoon billowing freak of nature!
How could it...we surfers know better!
All Tahiti's wave history is ramped by their ever expanding artificial mankind lagoon network!
100's of these artificial canals Ferry safe reliable trade linking lagoons without risking Ocean Jaunts.
Near all of their Ancient Wave breaks are gone...all have been bastardized for transit networks!
All surfers see and know such...any talk of similar wave history can't possibly ring true!
Same goes more most Local Bastardized Oz breaks that ever engage less naturally by the day!
Preaching to the converted...All say Aye!
Choose yer own poison > Whether ya surf yer mutant wave along a river or at sea.
tbb is not that fussed either way...happy to give either either a bash...be thankful ya can...
tbb is no longer strong enough to venture mid pacific for a 5 sec' bash...even in town is a bridge too far!
Aussie Tristan Carter POV Surfing Paris Olympics Ideal diverted River fed mutated Wavepool
&t=23sKoa Rothman POV Surfing Paris Olympics Ideal Cut Lagoon Ocean fed mutated Wavepool
Easy to be an expert in hindsight, but I wouldn't talk up Toled0.0's balls just yet. Today's 2.47 heat total on a proper pumping day says he really doesn't belong at this level
100%.
Twas a false dawn.
Figured that was a 'break out barrel' yesterday for Fil and he would retake his rightfully position as one of the greats ...
I didn’t see it. He didn’t go well today?
I can’t get the app to work on my phone. Driving me nuts
I didn't see it either, just saw on the scoreboard another dreadful heat total
Haven't seen a lick of surfing but these wrrte-ups have been medal worthy.
The Chianca v Ramzi heat is worth watching in full if you can find it Zen. Up there with as good as competitive surfing gets.
Agreed! That was epic. They were both getting blown out of cannons! And just stoked on the pits so much they were frothing on surfing, a great moment to see in the olympics.
Indeed. Only bummer was there had to be a loser. I love Joao's spirit and theatrics and after his injury I'd be stoked if he takes out gold, though I would have loved Ramzi to get through and go onto gold even more. I was hoping for one more bomb at the end - after toiling for so long to get on the CT he deserved it and his 9.77 was something else - I was watching on my phone in the gym so may have it wrong, but it looked like he purposely dropped straight down into that thing to get as deep as he could - mind blowing.
Appreciated nother good write-up Steve
but think ur missing the point on why surfing may or may not remain an Olympic sport.
its' got little (nothing?) to do with why 'We' (the swellnet community) or 'You' watch surfing.
It's about mainstream marketing - In a 0-3 second video highlight played within a 90 minute mosaic of highlights from other sports - joe average non-surfing public will be no less entertained by an air on a 3' pretty blue pool wave than they are by Jacks barrel
On Pickles, you may well be right. Hubris / Reading her own press. Gosh I hope not. I find her (nad Caity's) straigthforward perosnalities refreshing, and have loved watching them lead the current vanguard of women's surfing in backside waves of consequence.
But her current results are making me wonder about Pickle's consistency. Was it a similar extended competetive form collapse that led to her missing the cut a couple of years back? I would back her to dig herself out of one episode of the yips... but repeated episodes - yikes
We'll see.
Chances of the LA Olympics being held in the Tub 1-5%
Brisbane 0-1%.
“We watch to see pitiful human beings subject themselves to uncaring and vast natural forces which make a mockery of our wretched little plans and then marvel when those plans do come to fruition.”
Or as Shakespeare would have said;
“As flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods. They kill us for their sport “