John John Florence and Carissa Moore Qualify for 2024 Olympics at Teahupoo
2024 Olympics at Teahupoo
Photo Credit to Olympics.com
John John Florence’s chances of making the top five and getting a shot at the world title at Trestles in September aren’t looking great.
In order for him to finish the year in contention, he needs Yago Dora to lose early at Teahupoo—then he needs to make the semifinals and finish ahead of Gabriel Medina.
While that’s not an impossibility, especially considering Florence’s status as the best barrel rider in the world, the odds are pretty slim.
Despite all of this, we don’t think Florence is too concerned about his situation at the moment—largely because his performance in round one at Teahupoo cemented his position as one of the top two-rated American surfers on the rankings and provisionally qualified him for the Olympics in 2024. And guess where the Olympics are going to be held? Teahupoo, of course!
Considering John John Florence is one of the best ever at the Tahitian slab, he would have to be the early favorite to take gold next year when the Olympic Games come to Tahiti for the first time.
The only person we can foresee possibly challenging John John Florence for the gold is local wunderkind Matahi Drollet, who could possibly qualify to represent France in the Olympics (although it would take some interesting maneuvering by the French Olympic Association). Kauli Vaast has already claimed one of France’s two possible spots, so it remains to be seen if Matahi can snag the other one. Gabriel Medina would also be a formidable competitor at the Teahupoo Olympic event, but he’ll have to overcome both Yago Dora and Joao Chianca on the ratings by the end of the year if he wants a chance.
Joining John John Florence in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be Griffin Colapinto and fellow Oahu legend and multiple-time world champ Carissa Moore, who has also provisionally qualified.
Surfing fans will recall that Carissa won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and she’ll be hyped up to defend her title and go back-to-back. However, she will have to get past local girl Vahine Fiero, who has also already qualified and who is unquestionably the most accomplished female surfer in the heavy barrels at The End of the Road.
The Olympic picture is just starting to come into focus, with a number of spots still available. And it is important to note that John John and Carissa’s spots on the Olympic team are “provisional,” meaning they have a few obligations they have to fulfil to claim their spots (including surfing in ISA events in 2024 and not getting injured before the Olympics!).