Olympics: France and Brazil Surfers Keep Hope for Double Podium

On Thursday, Gabriel Medina (Brazil) and Jack Robinson (Australia) emerged victorious to lock in a semifinal.

Both France and Brazil have one surfer remaining in the men’s and women’s categories respectively as the surfing competition reached the quarterfinals.

On Thursday, the competition resumed following a two-day pause, starting with the women’s round three, followed by the quarterfinals of both men’s and women’s.

France, Brazil and Australia each have one surfer into the semifinals as the three men’s quarterfinals featured head-to-head heat between teammates.

Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Australia’s Jack Robinson emerged victorious to lock in a semifinal, while Kauli Vaast of France is set to take on Peru’s Alonso Correa, who beat Japan’s Reo Inaba to secure the remaining berth of the men’s final four.

Owning the waves on home water.

We catch up with Vahiné Fierro, Tahiti’s first-ever female surfer to represent France at an Olympic Games. She introduces us to her family and opens up on just how important all their love and encouragement have been on this Olympic… pic.twitter.com/HBSuBRwI6Z

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 29, 2024

The Paris 2024 surfing would have new champions following the defeat of Tokyo 2020 gold medalist and U.S. veteran Carissa Moore in the women’s quarterfinals by the hand of home favorite Johanne Defay.

The French surfer would take on another U.S. rival Caroline Marks in the semifinal, while the other finalist would be decided between Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil and Brisa Hennessy from Costa Rica. The surfing semifinals and the finals are expected to take place on Saturday.

The Paris 2024 surfing competition takes place on the beaches of Teahupoo in Tahiti, French Polynesia. There, 24 men and 24 women compete for Olympic glory. They all earned their places through their performance on the WSL Championship Tour and the ISA World Surfing Games.