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Olympic Surfing 2024: Where to Watch, Full Schedule
Five U.S. athletes are competing at Teahupo'o in Tahiti, some 10,000 miles from the hub of the Summer Games in Paris.
Surf’s up for the five Olympic surfing hopefuls riding into the 2024 Summer Games.
Three women and two men representing the U.S. are competing on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, nearly 10,000 miles from the 2024 Olympics hub in Paris, France. On the shores of Teahupo’o — known for its deceptively dangerous waves — the U.S. Team are facing off in the shortboard event where many have tried and failed to prove their skills on the beaches reserved for only the most skillful surfers in existence.
Although Hawaiian Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku — credited with helping introduce the mainland to the Aloha shirt — had campaigned to make surfing an Olympic sport since the 1920s, the 2024 Games will only be the second time the sport is being featured since its debut at Tokyo 2020, according to Olympics.com.
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Key Athletes to Watch
Gold medalist Carissa Moore, 31, the only U.S. surfer to bring home a gold medal (or any medal, for that matter) at the Tokyo Games, will defend her title in 2024. The Honolulu-raised surfer's place on the U.S. Team comes after winning silver in the 2023 World Surf League’s (W.S.L.) Championship Tour, per her Team USA bio.
“If we thought Tokyo was big for surfing, I think this will be a whole other level,” Moore, a member of the the Surfer's Hall of Fame, told Olympics.com.
Caroline Marks, 22, will be a strong contender for gold, having made history when, at age 15, she became the youngest surfer to qualify for the W.S.L. Championships. She, too, competed in Tokyo, placing fourth just behind Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki, according to NBC Olympics.
Meanwhile, rising star Caitlin “Caity” Simmers, 18, will make her first Olympics appearance, already making a name for herself by placing fourth in the 2023 Championships, which helped her earn W.S.L.’s 2023 Rookie of the Year honor.
For the men, Griffin Colapinto, 25, will make his Olympic debut as the first surfer to qualify for the 2024 games, according to NBC Sports. Noted for remaining calm under pressure, his March 2023 Rip Curl Pro Portugal victory secured him as a threat to rivals.
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Famously, Colapinto has a massive fan in actor Matthew McConaughey, as covered in SURFER Magazine.
John John Florence, 31, is making his sophomore Olympics appearance for the men, placing high above Colapinto in the W.S.L. world rankings, most recently updated on July 2, 2024. Winner of the El Salvador Pro, the two-time world champion and former child prodigy from Hawaii regularly advocates for cleaner oceans.
In the 2020 Games, Brazil came out on top with Japan and Australia trailing behind, meaning the men’s U.S. Team has yet to win a medal.
Learn more about the athletes headed to the Games on NBC's Olympics website.
How to watch
Every day during the Summer Olympics, NBC will offer fans at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and more. Considering the time difference (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.’s eastern time zone), fans will be able to watch the day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. NBC will also deliver an enhanced Olympics primetime show each night, providing three hours of must-see entertainment.
In addition, every event from the Summer Olympics will be broadcast live on Peacock, which will be home to an innovative Olympics hub that will include "curated rails of live and upcoming events, dedicated in-depth hubs for nearly 40 sports, medal standings and an interactive schedule."
Intense Rain Delays Heats
Though the weather has been relatively mild since the start of the competition, Tuesday took turn a turn, prompting officials to postpone the semifinals, according to Olympics.com.
Organizers anticipated a potential delay in events and reserved days, just in case. Weather at Teahupo'o can turn on a dime and organizers are aware of the risk that the large waves pose. Even during heats, a safety team is on hand in case conditions change.
"They know the place, they know exactly what to do when we have an athlete in bad condition in the water, and they know how to take him out of the impact zone [the area where the wave breaks]," sport manager Pascal Luciani told Olympics.com.
Complete schedule for surfing events
Saturday, July 27
1:00 p.m. ET: Men’s Round 1
5:45 p.m. ET: Women’s Round 1
Sunday, July 28
1:00 p.m. ET: Women’s Round 2
5:45 p.m. ET: Men’s Round 2
Monday, July 29
1:00 p.m. ET: Men’s Round 3
5:45 p.m. ET: Women’s Round 3
Tuesday, July 30
1:00 p.m. ET: Men’s & Women’s Quarterfinals
5:45 p.m. ET: Men’s & Women’s Semis, Medal Finals — POSTPONED
Originally published Jul 23, 2024.
