Florence and Colapinto Battle Tough Conditions, Exit Olympic Surfing Competition

TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti — Team USA’s surfers faced intense challenges from both their competitors and the conditions during Round 3 of competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. With eliminations on the line, neither Griffin Colapinto (San Clemente, California) nor John John Florence (Haleiwa, Hawaii) was able to win their heat, ending their Olympic runs. 

The morning started with the big and powerful surf that the famed Teahupo’o Wave is renowned for, but conditions deteriorated as the last of the men’s heats took to the field of play. Competition was ultimately called off for the remainder of the day.

Competing on his birthday, Colapinto started Heat 3 with two impressive waves (6.33, 7.50), taking the lead over local favorite Kauli Vaast (France). However, Vaast surged ahead with a 7.77 wave, adding to his earlier 6.33 score. As the heat drew to a close, the waves didn't provide Colapinto with an opportunity to respond. In the end, Vaast secured the win with a score of 15.10 to Colapinto’s 13.83.

“I felt really good in the heat,” Colapinto said. “I felt that it could totally go my way at any point, and for the first half of the heat, it was going my way. And then there was that wave that Kauli got, and he got the score…Every event I've done here in the last three to four years I've come up against the local wildcard or the local surfer in that round. It's the craziest role…I'm really close to beating them every time, but I still haven't gotten over the hurdle. So, you know, one day. I’m only 26, I’ve got many more years.”

In one of the most anticipated heats of the day, Florence and Jack Robinson (Australia) had a slow start to Heat 7 as they waited for a wave. Both men made attempts to get on the board with their first two waves collapsing on them and the scores staying well below 2.0. 

The situation began to shift on their third waves, with Robinson scoring a 7.17, and Florence notching a 6.50. Robinson found a few more favorable waves to get a final score of 13.94. Unfortunately, the right waves didn’t materialize for Florence who ended the day with a last-second ride to a 2.57 for his final score of 9.07.

“The second half of the draw is very heavy loaded,” Florence said. “I'm not sure how or why that happened. But to actually come up against Jack this early on, one of us is gonna win and one is going to lose today. It was hard. Today was a scary day out there. There is so much wind…when it's like that there is so much power and energy in it. I imagine it's one of the scarier sports.”

The competition could continue with Round 3 for the women tomorrow.  All three U.S. athletes - Caroline Marks, Carissa Moore, and Caity Simmers - are still in the field. The event has a 10-day window to complete the four-day competition, depending on the conditions. Official start lists and calls will be posted to Olympics.com

TEAM USA RESULTS 

Griffin Colapinto: Men’s Round 3, Heat 3: 13.83 points (7.50, 6.33)

John John Florence: Men’s Round 3, Heat 7: 9.07 points (6.50, 2.57)

Full results from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 can be found here. 

For more information, contact Katie Branham, 2024 U.S. Olympic Surfing Press Officer, at Katie@BranhamMedia.com or +1 719-237-9407.