While most 2024 Olympians will be battling for glory in Paris, the world’s best surfers will be going for gold some 16,000km away on the island of Tahiti, where the spinning blue barrels of Teahupo’o might be the real star of the show. Competition is likely to be fierce between the sport’s traditional powerhouses but host nation France are a genuine threat after two Tahitian locals qualified to compete at their home break. “Hosting the Olympics at Teahupo’o is the best spot they could ever pick just because it’s such a good wave at that time of the year,” said local Vahine Fierro, who won the Tahiti Pro in pumping waves in May. “I think the Olympics are going back to where the surf was born.”