The opening ceremonies for the highly anticipated 2024 Summer Olympics are scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, surfers, residents and Olympic workers in Tahiti, French Polynesia, are preparing for the start of the Paris Olympics and the surfing competition.
Competitors look set to get some good waves at Teahupo'o Reef starting this weekend, a senior International Surfing Association official said.
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Surfers are pictured during a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, July 23, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The conditions could provide a positive boost to the decision to hold surfing competitions more than 9,000 miles from the host city.
“We were paddling into a wave that we didn't know was coming,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “We didn't know if the IOC would have the courage to do that. But we looked at a lot of the options and it was clear that staying in European France meant disaster, probably disaster, for the waves.”
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Throughout the week, competitors were seen paddling out to the world-famous waves of Teahupo'o, Tahiti, starting before dawn to take advantage of exclusive access to the spot to train before the competition.
During training sessions in the days leading up to the Olympics, competitors have the opportunity to familiarize themselves or reacquaint themselves with the huge, unique waves that are considered to be among the heaviest in the world. Many of the surfers competing at the Paris Olympics have previous experience on the waves at Teahupo'o.
Reo Inaba of Japan surfs during a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition on July 23, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The forecast for Teahupo'o calls for good conditions to continue through Aug. 5. Meanwhile, beaches around France's premier surfing area of Hossegor will likely see fair to poor conditions, according to data from Surfline.com.
“The IOC and the Olympic Committee understood the challenge of having OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) operating here rather than on a beach near Paris, but I am fully confident that the rewards will be enormous,” Aguerre added.
“We know there will be some amazing waves on Saturday and Sunday. They won't be as big and scary as Teahupo'o, but they will be very nice and of great quality, so we'll see some great performances.”
Kanoa Igarashi of Japan surfs during a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, July 23, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Surfing is expected to be much closer to Los Angeles in 2028, when the city hosts its third Summer Games. Aguerre hinted that surfers could compete in Huntington Beach or Trestles, near San Clemente, within four years.
“But I'm not going to question the organizers, we've been evaluating the pros and cons of each of them, and both are amazing. So it's going to be a good time.”
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Other preparations for this year's Games could be seen at sea, including the first floating Olympic village housing some of the competitors and the Olympic judges' tower (which drew criticism from environmental groups and was later scaled back by the Olympic committee) jutting out of the ocean.
In Teahupo'o, residents have spent the windy days preparing their town for the influx of extra people: clearing trash and debris from beachside walking paths, extending business hours, building homemade dirt potholes in driveways and painting signs to give friendly reminders to visitors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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