Waves, Whales, a Local Hero: Olympic Surfing in Tahiti
Water got a lot of attention before the Olympic Games: would the River Seine be clean enough for athletes to swim in?
But thousands of kilometers away, Olympic surfers had different worries — including whales getting in the way of their competition!
The Olympic surfing event took place off the coast of the Pacific island of Tahiti, more than 15,700 kilometers from Paris.
Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, a French overseas territory, and home to one of the world's most perfect yet fearsome waves: Teahupo'o.
In the end, in the men's competition it was French Polynesian surfer Kauli Vaast who became a local hero, winning gold.
"I don't really realize it, but I just made history," said Vaast afterward. "I can't be prouder to represent Tahiti and France at home."
Caroline Marks from the US won the women's surfing gold medal, although the winners were made to wait for their final rounds. Many of the events were delayed while surfers waited for the conditions to be right.
It's just the second time that surfing has been included in the Olympics. And Tahiti's young surfers have been following closely.
While Teahupo'o has been a popular destination for surfers from around the world for some time, it's only more recently that local surf culture and talent among younger generations has begun to develop across Tahiti.
Before he'd won his medal, Vaast said he was excited that Tahiti's young surfers would be able to watch their heroes: "This is the best thing in the world, because I was them a couple years ago."
"We try to do our best, to give the best energy, the best personality for them. We try to be the best example possible."
Many surfers agreed that the competition helped to promote the sport.
Around the world, people watched an event filled with viral photographs, record-breaking scores and hours of stunning video footage.
