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The Seine is hardly tempestuous so the Olympic surfers have been competing 15,000km away in the village of Teahupo’o, which translates as “wall of skulls”. Teahupo’o is part of Tahiti, which is part of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France. The village is known for deadly waves that only expert surfers can handle, which makes Olympic surfing a baffling and exhilarating watch. On Monday, Brazil’s Gabriel Medina achieved the highest single wave score in Olympic history – a near perfect 9.9 – by climbing a huge wave before powering through a “tube”, the cylindrical gap created by waves as they curve and break. He disappeared under the blue for a few seconds, only to come out, upright, his hands outstretched in watery joy.
