Competition at the Olympic surfing venue of Teahupo'o in Tahiti was canceled on Wednesday due to challenging conditions following a storm that swept through the region, forcing the event to be put on hold. Organizers announced that the competition is likely to resume at 7 a.m. (1700 GMT) on Thursday, starting with women's round three and moving into the quarter-finals for both men and women.
Tahiti's Teahupo'o had delivered some of the best conditions ever seen for a competition during men's round three on Monday. However, strong winds disrupted the event and continued into Tuesday. Wednesday highlighted the challenges of forecasting waves and weather on an isolated island in the South Pacific.
With time running out to finish the competition, organizers initially planned to send the women's round three into the turbulent 15-foot stormy surf at one of the world's most dangerous waves. They quickly reconsidered and canceled the event for the day, leaving a nail-biting wait to wrap up the competition and decide the medals. Running for half a day on Wednesday would have allowed the organizers to complete the competition and crown medalists on Thursday, which is expected to have the best conditions left in the waiting period that ends on Monday.
One-and-a-half days of competition remain, making a weekend finish more likely, though not certain. Kevin Wallis, head of forecasting at Surfline.com, which works with the Olympic surf organizers, said a repeat of Monday's stunning conditions was unlikely.
"In a perfect world, you get four really great days of surf like we had on Monday morning, but that doesn't always happen," Wallis told Reuters during the break in competition on Tuesday. "We've been super lucky so far. We've had two and a half days of anywhere from good to unbelievably all-time good in the case of Monday morning. So I would just look whether we get anything more like that the rest of the waiting period - probably not - but we've got a day-and-a-half to finish. We've got to try and find the best day-and-a-half left in the waiting period."
When surfing resumes, women's round three will feature Australian world champion Tyler Wright against Israel's Anat Lelior, and local favorite Vahine Fierro against countrywoman Johanne Defay in heat two. Friendly fire is a theme for the men's quarter-finals as well, with France's Kauli Vaast and Joan Duru facing off, Brazil's Joao Chianca and Gabriel Medina competing, and Australians Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson fighting for a semi-final berth. Read more.....