The Paris Summer Olympics begin a week from tomorrow, on July 26. And I’m very much looking forward to it.
I covered the Olympic Games for the Toronto Star for many, many years, including both of Toronto’s failed bids to stage the Games and then Vancouver’s successful gamble for the 2010 Winter Olympics I also was in Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Turin, Beijing and Vancouver to cover the Games in person.
I haven’t covered any Olympics since then, but it remains a magical event that I tune into when I can. This year’s Games will be especially cool because of the surfing competition, which will be held in Tahiti in starting Saturday, July 27.
My wife and I spent a few days in Tahiti in early 2020, including a marvelous boat tour that took us out to see the thunderous waves at Teahupo’o, where the surfers will be aiming for a medal. It’s a beautiful surf spot, with wondrous, deep green, spiky mountains in the distance and deep blue water all around.
It’s also can be a very difficult place to surf, with heavy waves that can really do a body harm if you’re not careful. And it’s hard to be careful when you’re gunning for an Olympic medal.
Here’s a story I wrote about my visit to the part of the island called Tahiti Iti and the area around Teahupo’o. And here’s a story I wrote for Open Jaw Network about places to stay and things to do in Tahiti. And, finally, a story I wrote about Tahiti and Teahupo’o in the most recent issue of Bold Traveller magazine.
Teahupo’o, Tahiti, surfing competition site for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Steve Dickinson/Tahiti Tourism Photo
Many people likely think of Hawai’i or maybe California as the birthplace of surfing. They’re an important part of the culture, but the first known written record of surfing came when Captain Cook paraded about the islands of Tahiti in the late 1700’s. In 1769, the chief botanist on Cook’s HMS Resolution, one Joseph Banks, put pen to paper and described what he saw in Tahiti one day.
“The shore was covered with pebbles and large stones; yet, in the midst of these breakers, were ten or twelve Indians swimming for their amusement: whenever a surf broke near them, they dived under it, and, to all appearance with infinite facility, rose again on the other side.”
“This diversion was greatly improved by the stern of an old canoe, which they happened to find upon the spot; they took this before them, and swam out with it as far as the outermost beach, then two or three of them getting into it, and turning the square end to the breaking wave, were driven in towards the shore with incredible rapidity, sometimes almost to the beach; but generally the wave broke over them before they got half way, in which case they dived, and rose on the other side with the canoe in their hands: they then swam out with it again, and were again driven back, just as our holiday youth climb the hill in Greenwich park for the pleasure of rolling down it.”
“At this wonderful scene we stood gazing for more than half an hour, during which time none of the swimmers attempted to come on shore, but seemed to enjoy their sport in the highest degree; we then proceeded in our journey, and late in the evening got back to the fort.”
The good people at Tahiti Tourism have put out a couple videos to mark the occasion, one about Tahiti being the birthplace of surfing and the other about Teahupo’o and “the mythical wave.”
