After days of delays and postponements, the stars finally aligned in Teahupo'o for a stellar finale to the Olympic surfing competition.
The men's event was up first and the top story was none other than the Tahitian, Kauli Vaast, looking to win gold in front of his home crowd. After scraping through a low-scoring contest in the semifinals, the hometown hero finished the competition with an exclamation point, showcasing his native knowledge to become an Olympic champion in epic fashion.
Gold Final: Kauli Vaast completes storybook ending
Even though the waves may have been mild in the semifinals to start the day, Teahupo’o clearly knew gold medals were on the line when Kauli Vaast and Jack Robinson paddled out for the final match of the men’s event.
After a bit of cat and mouse between the two surfers, Vaast dropped into the biggest, deepest barrel of the day and re-emerged out of nowhere for a gorgeous tube ride, flexing on his exit as he secured a 9.50 and started the gold medal match off with a bang. Robinson was up quickly with a high-line barrel ride of his own, earning a 7.83 to respond immediately.
A couple minutes later, though, the local boy showcased his knowledge of the break once again, stalling in a massive swell to put another strong score of 8.17 on the board.
With a pair of excellent rides to start off the match — both higher than Robinson’s lone wave — Vaast positioned himself clearly in the lead and gave the Australian significant ground to make up. Robinson now needed two stellar scores to try to usurp the top position on the leaderboard.
Unfortunately for the Aussie, the sets calmed down after that roaring start, leaving him waiting for a wave that never arrived.
As Robinson stared at the horizon, Vaast let the clock tick down and finally let out all the emotion when the horn blew — a celebration fit for an Olympic champion. Cheers roared from the shore. The local boy had defended his home territory and brought a gold medal to the tiny island in the Pacific.
Bronze Final: Redemption for Medina with a place on the podium
Two South American surfers met in the bronze final, both trying to secure their spot on the podium for the first time.
About five minutes in, the pair charged for the first exchange of the matchup. Alonso Correa caught the first wave, finding one of the rare barrels of the day and sticking the landing on a frothy exit high on the rail for a 6.83. Gabriel Medina followed right behind, not quite finding a tube but dishing out some heavy turns to create 5.67, tipping the opening duel in the Peruvian’s favor.
Correa then tacked on with a nice combination of maneuvers for 5.00 points to bring his total to double digits.
Midway to the time limit, the surfers once again traded blows within seconds of each other. Correa found a tight tube for a 5.60, but Medina gave him no time to enjoy it. The Brazilian dropped in super late to a crazy deep barrel and did his best Houdini impression for a magician-like escape to earn a 7.50.
From there Medina put his foot on the gas and did not let it up, as he glided through another barrel and nearly landed a full rotation aerial for a 7.77. That forced Correa to chase a score in the excellent range — something that had yet to be seen during the day.
Although it took him longer than usual, Medina eventually found his rhythm and got humming. With a win over Correa, Medina was finally able to stand on an Olympic podium after he was beat in the bronze medal match three years ago at the Tokyo Games.
Results
See below for the full results from the semifinals and medal finals (winners in *bold).
Semifinal Heats
Semifinal 1
Alonso Correa (PER) – 9.60 total – 5.67, 3.93
*Kauli Vaast (FRA) – 10.96 total – 5.83, 5.13
Semifinal 2
Gabriel Medina (BRA) – 6.33 total – 6.33
*Jack Robinson (AUS) – 12.33 total – 7.83, 4.50
Bronze Medal Match
*Gabriel Medina (BRA) – 15.54 total – 7.77, 7.77
Alonso Correa (PER) – 12.43 total – 6.83, 5.60
Gold Medal Match
*Kauli Vaast (FRA) – 17.67 total – 9.50, 8.17
Jack Robinson (AUS) – 7.83 total – 7.83