Photo: WSL/Ed Sloane
Following a few days of minimal swell and anxious anticipation, Teahupo’o snarled back to life for the Shiseido Tahiti Pro on Wednesday with 8-to-12 foot ledges unloading on the famed reef. Without hesitation, competition was called on. First up, the women.
And by midday, after a slew of highlight reel-worthy heats, a new champion was crowned at the End of the Road – local wildcard and Teahupo’o royalty, Vahine Fierro.
“I’m sore everywhere,” Fierro said after threading tubes on her way to the podium. “Thank you Teahupo’o for sending me the best waves of my life in the heat. It was insane to surf against the best in the world. And thank you to everyone who believed in me. I’m so happy we were on today. It was the perfect amount of energy – not too big, but enough to push us. We all had big wipeouts, and we all got the best waves of our lives.”
With a nod to Caitlin Simmers, and her mic-drop moment following her win at yet another historic event this season for the women, the Lexus Pipe Pro, Fierro added:
“Teahupo’o is for the women as well.”
Related: Carissa Moore Surfs (Possible) Final Heat on Championship Tour at Pumping Teahupo’o
As the swell continued to build through the morning, the quarterfinals kicked off with upsets, wipeouts, and standout performers, trotting away from the pack, and signaling what was to come. Notably, Brisa Hennessy took down 5x world champion Carissa Moore, in what may be her last heat on the Championship Tour. Hennessy’s calculated, no-hand stance propelled her beyond many foamballs and into the finals with Fierro.
But the heat of the day came with the second semifinal, in which Fierro matched up against Tatiana Weston-Webb. Despite a perfect 10 from Tati – the one and only during the women’s event – Fierro still won the heat. And Tati, even though she lost, couldn’t wipe the smile from her face after the wave. “That was historic…quite possibly one of the best barrels ever ridden in competition,” the WSL mused.
Once again, the women’s Championship Tour in waves of consequence continues this season’s theme of glass-shattering progression. And hopefully – fingers crossed for swell – this is just a preview of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics also at Teahupo’o.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the 2024 Shiseido Tahiti Pro, including the results from the men’s competition, and a full event recap coming soon.
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