Vitor Oliveira

Kauli Vaast (FRA) and Caroline Marks (USA), two 22-year-olds born just twelve days apart, won surfing's second Olympic gold medals on a historic day at Teahupoo, French Polynesia's idyllic location for surfing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It was always going to be an incredible finals day, and Tahiti delivered once again. Tension built throughout the day, punctuated by a fresh swell that rose heat by heat. On paper, the match-ups held undeniable promise, showcasing the International Surfing Association (ISA) as a strong pathway to the Olympic Games. Three of the four men in the semifinals were ISA medalists who had qualified for Paris 2024 through the ISA World Surfing Games (WSG). Each of the four women to make the Semifinals was an ISA Medalist, three of them ISA world junior champions. The host nation of France claimed two medals, their first in surfing. Vaast's gold medal was complimented by a bronze medal for Johanne Defay (FRA). Brazil also earned two medal...

Have you ever thought, "Why am I securing a leg rope to my expensive surfboard with a $1 piece of string?" Sometimes, all you've got to do to innovate is to keep it simple. JS Industries launched the Leashbar, a compact injection-molded leash plug entirely composed of single-shot reinforced plastic. It simplifies the use of a surfboard leash. All you need to know is to mount your rail saver straight to the tail of your board. It promises no more tail blowouts, no more tangles, no more tombstoning, and, most importantly, no more strings. The practical leash plug reduces the chances of damage to the surfboard and one less element of the board's attachment to the surfer that could break, loosen, or get lost. A Future Standard? JS Industries also notes that it reduces the chance of your leg rope tangling or getting caught on your foot. The idea for this invention came around 2012 when surfboard shaper Dylan Perese was in a boat in the Mentawais, witnessing firi...

The International Surfing Association (ISA) has removed Australian judge Ben Lowe from the judging panel at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The decision comes after a photo surfaced on social media showing Lowe posing with Australian Olympic surfer Ethan Ewing and coach Bede Durbidge. The ISA deemed this interaction inappropriate, citing the need to maintain the integrity and fairness of the competition. The contentious photo, captioned "These 3 Straddie boys doing their stuff at the Olympics," references the trio's shared background from North Stradbroke Island, a small community off the coast of Brisbane. While the image may seem innocent, the ISA's decision underscores the strict ethical standards expected of Olympic judges. Lowe, a seasoned judge with 18 years of experience in the World Surf League (WSL), is known for his reserved and professional demeanor. However, this incident has cast a shadow over his reputation, especially given the heightened scrutiny at th...

Today, Teahupoo delivered a tense day of competition for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As the ocean recovered from a two-day storm, a four-to-five foot swell with shifting conditions challenged the world's best surfers, who nonetheless delivered impressive performances in drama-filled heats. Women's Round 3 was held in full before men's and women's Quarterfinals were completed.  Round 3 standouts Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) and Brisa Hennessy (CRC) rounded out the day by progressing through tight Quarterfinals, along with 2016 ISA Under 16 world junior champion and 2023 WSL world champion Caroline Marks (USA). Hennessy, the two-time ISA World Junior gold medalist, pushed through a tricky barrel to earn a 7.67, the highest single wave score of the day for the women. The 24-year-old also matched Weston-Webb, a fellow two-time ISA world junior gold medalist, with the highest heat total of 12.34.  The trio of World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) surfers will ...

A 70-year-old man has died following an incident at the Urbnsurf wave pool in Sydney's Olympic Park, Australia. The emergency services were summoned to the site just before midday on Wednesday when the man fell off his bodyboard and did not resurface. He was swiftly pulled unconscious from the water, and CPR was administered on-site. The man was then transported to Concord Hospital in critical condition, where he sadly passed away shortly after arrival. Urbnsurf has released a statement regarding the incident, describing it as a "medical episode" and expressing their condolences. "The Urbnsurf team responded promptly to provide support and care for the guest before paramedics arrived," they stated. "Our main priority is the health, safety, and wellbeing of our guests and staff, and our thoughts are with them at this time." The surf park, which only recently opened in April 2024 at a cost of approximately $50 million, has announced its temporar...

Jérôme Brouillet was at the right place and at the right time - Teahupoo, Tahiti, 9:30:38 a.m., July 29, 2024. The breathtaking photo of Gabriel Medina seemingly floating in the air, pointing towards the sky, with his surfboard perfectly parallel to him, went viral around the globe in a matter of hours. Was it a stroke of luck? Had it all been strategically planned? The image captured by the 39-year-old French photographer looked so unreal that some people thought it might have been edited with Photoshop. But it wasn't - this was a real moment of Olympic magic that could be hung and displayed forever in the Louvre Museum. Gabriel Medina was competing in Round 3 against Jack Robinson at the infamous reef pass of Teahupoo . On his second ride, the Brazilian caught a huge wave and got slingshot out of a huge five-meter barrel. Before launching into the air, the three-time world champion raised his two hands to ask for a Perfect 10 from the judging panel. Jérôme Brouillet, the...

It only took a year for the face and presence of the World Tour to look and feel completely different, so great was the transformation brought on by ASP World Tour director Ian Cairns and this new generation of hungry, talented, and competition-ready surfers. It was a swift and decisive changing of the guard. Thankfully, I was young enough, hungry enough and ranked highly enough to not get swept aside like so many of my elder IPS peers. They either didn't like the new format, all of the additional events, the presence of more beach breaks, loss of the Hawaiian events... or simply aged out. It was out with the old and in with the new! The new guard was led by Martin Potter, Tom Curren, Mark Occhilupo, Derek Ho, Barton Lynch and Damien Hardman. They were all young and extremely talented, and they were quickly finding their traction into the World Tour Top 10. All of these surfers would eventually become future world champions. So I sensed, going into 1984, what my future held....

The true face of Teahupo'o began to show itself today with solid 10-foot sets unloading the full power of the Pacific Ocean onto the sharp, shallow reef. It was an unbelievable display, featuring the world's best surfers providing a show like no other on sporting's biggest stage, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A completed Round 3 decided Quarterfinalists on the men's side, with competition called off due to deteriorating conditions before the women could hit the water. The biggest names in men's surfing didn't hold back in pursuit of an Olympic Gold Medal. Brazil's Gabriel Medina and France's Joan Duru took top honors. Medina set a new record for the highest single wave score in Olympic history, a 9.90, and Duru lodged the highest heat total, 18.13. Duru's record landed just 0.03 ahead of João Chianca's 18.10. Chianca claimed victory in a tight battle against Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) that was one for the history books. Underdog victories from ...