who are the 48 surfers eligible for Teahupo’o?

And two that make… 48! Revealing in the last few hours the names of the surfers chosen to benefit from the mysterious “universality” spots, the International Surfing Association (ISA) has completed the list of 48 qualifiers – 24 men and 24 women – for the surfing events of Olympic Games in Paris 2024 We now know all those who will experience the powerful waves of the famous Polynesian wave Teahupo’o, from July 27 to August 5, Olympic medals in play.

At the end of the ISA World Championships in March last year, there were only four places available. Two “extra” quotas were reserved for a Japanese surfer and an American surfer, following their respective nation’s first place in the men’s and women’s rankings at the 2022 ISA Worlds. Unsurprisingly, the two sesames were awarded to Connor O’Leary, who had swapped the Australian the banner with the Japanese (mother country) in recent months, and to the current leader of CT Caitlin Simmers, by virtue of her career (2nd) at the Tahiti Pro 2023.

This week, the ISA finally revealed the identity of the two lucky winners of the “universality” spots, intended for one surfer and one surfer from a “small” country, with among the eligibility criteria having finished in the top 50 of the 2023 or 2024 ISA Worlds conditions met by the Salvadoran surfer Bryan Perez (23 years old), invited during the last two stages of the CT competition in his country in 2022 and 2023 (17th him from the last worlds -, and the young surfer from Nicaragua Candelaria Resano (17 years) , 3rd place in the 2023 ISA Junior Worlds. Both attended last July, at a training camp in Teahupo’o, which confirmed their ability to ride the wave competitively.

Ado and Mignot substitutes

At Teahupo’o this summer, Brazil, which was a hit with the most possible qualifiers (six), will be the best-represented nation ahead of the United States (five), France, Japan and Australia (four).

In the French ranks, in addition to the four qualifiers (Johanne Defay, Vahine Fierro, Kauli Vaast, Joan Duru), the door to the Olympics is not completely closed for two other Frenchmen. Marco Mignot and Pauline Ado have effectively inherited the status of substitutes. He will compensate for a possible withdrawal from Duru (but not from Vaast, who would be replaced by the Spaniard Gonzalo Gutierrez). She will replace Fierro should the Polynesian step down (but not Defay, whose place would be taken by Costa Rican Leilani McGonagle).