An exciting opening round of surfing at the 2024 Olympic Games has come and gone. The major storylines of Round 1 were those who won their heats, but none of those surfers will appear in the second round of competition as they all earned automatic byes into Round 3. In the next round, the losers from the first day will face off in one-on-one elimination matches. 

After seeing the waves ripping in Teahupo’o on day one of the event, here’s what to watch for when the athletes paddle out for Round 2. 

As much fun as Round 1 was to watch, not all the surfers enjoyed it as much as the viewers at home. One of the most notable competitors to struggle was Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi, the reigning silver medalist from the sport’s debut in his home country at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Igarashi found an abundance of success on the small, choppy waves in Tokyo that emphasized stringing maneuvers togethers. That style of surfing is not welcome at Teahupo’o, where riders instead need to complete long, difficult rides inside the crashing barrels of waves. 

Igarashi finished last in his heat in the first round, failing to net more than a single score and losing to the heat’s top finisher by more than 10 points. While he definitely needed some high scores to overtake first place, Igarashi never gave himself a chance by only completing one wave.

The stakes are raised in Round 2, so he will have to be far more aggressive in the head-to-head elimination match. On Day 2, sticking two solid scores on the board could be enough to punch his ticket to Round 3, as opposed to waiting for the perfect wave like he did in the first round. He’ll face Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti in the opening heat of the second round of the men’s event. 

While many of the favorites for the gold medal took care of business in Round 1, Australian Jack Robinson and Tahitian native Kauli Vaast did not have the same fate. 

Robinson held the lead in the heat for much of the period, seemingly setting himself up to appear in the third round. Frenchman Joan Duru needed a good wave score of 7.20 to leapfrog the Australian for first place. In the waning moments, he dropped into a large swell and completed a lengthy barrel ride. After the horn sounded, his score was announced as a 7.67, boosting him over Robinson and securing him the top spot in the heat.

Robinson performed well, but was just narrowly beat out. He will now look to stay alive in a do-or-die duel with Lucca Mesinas of Peru in Round 2.

Vaast had a very different round on his home beach. The local boy struggled throughout the entire round, not being able to land the massive waves he is used to cruising on at this swell. American Griffin Colapinto had the top spot in the heat all but wrapped up in the final minutes.

Vaast had no chance of earning the bye, but he was able to hit some good runs towards the end of the round and post a respectable score. He’ll hope to carry over that positive momentum to his elimination matchup South Africa’s Matthew McGillivray in Round 2. 

In Round 1, the draw was not kind to Molly Picklum and Tatiana Weston-Webb, as they found themselves in a gauntlet of a first-round heat joined by world No. 1 Caitlin Simmers, the only heat where all three surfers were within the top ten of the World Surf League rankings. Simmers showed why she’s at the top of the rankings, edging out her competitors for a Round 1 win. Now, Picklum and Weston-Webb find themselves fighting for their Olympic lives.

Picklum will be up first, seeing host nation France’s Johanne Defay in the fourth heat of Round 2. It was a fairly lackluster opening round for the Australian, who was in a distant third for most of the period while Simmers and Weston-Webb duked it out for the top spot. She notched a decent 5.77-point wave to make her score a bit more respectable, but never truly threatened her opponents. There’s no doubt the WSL’s No. 4 ranked surfer will be fired up after a disappointing showing. 

Immediately following Picklum, Weston-Webb will paddle out alongside Nicaragua’s Candelaria Resano. Weston-Webb, the No.7 ranked surfer in the world, is no stranger to the lethal swells of Teahupo’o, scoring a perfect 10 during the tour’s stop there this season. She’ll hope to relive that experience and send herself into the third round. 

Assuming weather holds, catch Round 2 of Olympic surfing Sunday, July 28, starting at 1:00 p.m. ET