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Vahine Fierro was riding the waves of Havaai Pass a few months ago after winning his first Tahiti Pro. She was invited to compete in the event and won, while Cauley Wast missed out after being eliminated in the qualifying rounds.
But the local boy got his revenge this Monday. The Tahitian, who has been riding this wave since he was a child, showed the world that he is the new big name in this place after a long reign of American Kelly Slater.
Under crazy pressure, Kauli Vaast didn’t quiver, winning the Olympic semifinal against Peru’s Alonso Correa. In this series, the two surfers watched each other for a long time while waiting for the right wave, and the tone was set in the first five minutes. Kauli Vaast surged a small 2, and then Correa responded with a 2.67 to take the series lead.
Soon, the Tahitian chose to increase his score with two consecutive waves, one of which was enhanced by the use of a small tube, which gave him 4 more points and forced Alonso to prioritize starting with an above-average wave.
The Peruvian regained the lead with 3.77 points 15 minutes before the end of the series, before putting Kauli Vaast in trouble with 5.67 points.
10 minutes before the end of the race, in the emerging wave, Kauli Vaast managed to catch a small tube and maneuvered to catch 5.83 and return to the lead, and then the second wave pushed the score to the end with 6 minutes from the end. In the end, he shook the Peruvian with 5.13.
10.96 to 6.60, the score should not change, and Cauley Waster then opened the door to the final.
In the other semifinal, Brazilian Gabriel Medina was eliminated by Australian Jack Robinson due to a lack of consistent waves.
The final ended up lasting only 15 minutes, out of the planned 35. With two waves of 9.50 and 8.17, Kauli Vaast defeated Robinson, who would never be able to score in the second wave despite scoring 7.83 in the first.
At 22, Kauli Vaast became the first Frenchman to win an Olympic gold medal in surfing, and at home. He also became the first Polynesian to win an Olympic gold medal.
It was a huge, almost surreal joy for the young man, who had to take a plane to Huntington, California, this Monday evening to quickly return to the daily life of the WQS and hope to qualify for the professional tour next year and take over the place of Michel Boulez.
On Monday, France’s Johanne Defay won bronze with another impressive performance.
She lost narrowly to Caroline Marks in the semifinals – the American won the series with the same score of 12.17 as the French, but she had a better first wave and then won the bronze medal in the final against Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb. – The French surfer faced Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy in the minor final. She won the debate 12.66 to 4.93 in an uncontested series, where a mistake in priorities could cost her dearly. The French woman took the bronze medal.
Monday was the last official date for Olympic surfing competitions, which gave France more pride. With the two new attractions, the French team regained third place in the medal standings, behind China and the United States.
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