Teahupo’o, Tahiti is a sketchy wave. In fact, it’s up there on the Mount Rushmore of the world’s heaviest, scariest, deadliest waves alongside the likes of slabbing spots like Shipstern Bluff, The Right, Ours, and other monstrosities masquerading as waves.
Which is why this year’s Paris 2024 Olympics, and surfing’s appearance at Chopes, is all the more exciting. Now all we can do is cross our fingers for swell.
Related: Olympic Surfing 101: Everything to Know Before Paris 2024
And so, ahead of the Olympics, the competitors understandably have been putting in the extra time to get comfortable with the wave, learn the reef, formulate a gameplan, dial in their equipment, consult with those who know the wave well, and learn to take their lickings. As for that last one, Australia’s Molly Picklum got hers last October.
The clip above shows just that – Picklum’s worst wipeout ever from Teahupo’o. It was a tow wave, when she was there for a practice mission, and when a bomb arrived on the horizon, her dedicated pilot on the ski, Josh Kerr, knew she had to go.
Related: Olympic Surfing Countdown: Daily Dispatches from Teahupo’o
Picklum explained: “I said to Kerrzy, ‘Please don’t kill me. This isn’t a closeout, surely? Don’t kill me.’ He was just seeing this wall, and he was thinking, ‘There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it; you’re going.’”
And so, she did. She let go of the rope, and squared up against the wall. She continued:
“I went across, I saw the Teahupo’o wall warping, and I just started to get going. After I faded, I realized I probably shouldn’t have done that. I thought I was pumping but I was doing just the stupidest little pumps. It hurts my brain to think about it. Then, I just started to see the west bowl part shoot out really quick. I felt like I was behind it, so I just braced myself. I was absolutely obliterated. Backflips, frontflips, all of it. I was praying.”
Related: Olympic Pregame Session Scores Pumping Surf At Teahupo’o (Photos)
Luckily, after the wipeout and a few waves on the head, Kerrzy came and saved her on the ski. But that wave, the memory of that beating, will remain for Pickles.
“It was my worst wipeout ever,” she said, “but also the best vision I’ve ever had.”
Stay tuned to SURFER to watch Molly Picklum, and the rest of the Olympic field, as they compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics in Teahupo’o, Tahiti July 27th – August 5th.
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