Paris Olympics “I only found out yesterday” “I can’t help but laugh”．．．The surprisingly little-known fact that Olympic surfing will be held in Tahiti is a hot topic．
The first round of the men’s and women’s surfing competition at the Paris Olympics will begin on the 27th (2:00 a.m. on the 28th, Japan time). While the competition venues are scattered throughout Paris and other areas, surfing will be held on the “other side” of Paris, 15,000 kilometers away in the village of Teahupo’o on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia in the South Pacific. This has become a hot topic on social media, with comments such as, “This is an incredible feat that can only be done in French Polynesia,” and “As expected.” The surfing event was scheduled to take place in Tahiti in 2019. However, even now that the Olympics have begun, it appears that it is still not well known among people other than those involved in the competition. On X (formerly Twitter), there were a series of surprised comments such as “I only found out yesterday” and “I can’t help but laugh,” as well as comments such as “The Olympics don’t need to be limited to cities anymore,” “This is an incredible feat that can only be achieved because Tahiti is part of French Polynesia,” and “As expected, they’re doing something so stylish.” Compared to Ichinomiya, Chiba Prefecture, which was the surfing venue for the Tokyo Olympics, some people say, “The waves at Teahupoo are amazing and worth seeing,” and “It’s on a whole other level.” On the one hand, there were some uncomfortable comments such as, “There was the Sapporo marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Hong Kong equestrian event at the Beijing Olympics, but (omitted) isn’t Tahiti surfing too far away?” and, “Western colonialism is still continuing. The surfing venue for the Paris Olympics will be Tahiti. Some people have expressed views such as, “What kind of festival of peace is this?” and “It seems like a step backwards in today’s anti-colonialism.” Surfing competitions are judged on the difficulty and variety of the tricks performed while riding the waves. Each ride is worth 10 points. The competition will be decided by the total score of the two highest scores (maximum 20 points). The tournament format involves teams of two or three competing in heats (matches), with the top competitors from each team advancing to the next round. The time limit is generally 15 to 45 minutes. There are a total of four Japanese representatives. The men’s competitors will be Kanoa Igarashi (26), who won a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the first time the sport was included in the event, Australian Connor O’Leary (30), and Leo Inaba (27), while the women’s competitor will be Shino Matsuda (21). (Digital Editorial Department).
>>1 Now that I think about it, 30 years ago France conducted nuclear tests in Polynesia amid protests over what they called their own territory, sparking outrage. I remember this country being crazy, too.
>>39 He couldn’t attend the opening ceremony, so he thought he’d attend the closing ceremony, but he had to pay for it out of his own pocket, which was a shame.
I saw it on TV, but apparently Tahiti has traditional festivals and surfing competitions aren’t that popular. Plus, when they tried to build something like a lifeguard tower, it was criticized as being destructive to the environment, so it ended up being smaller than planned.
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