Olympics

5 months ago

Robinson stoked on Olympic silver as he leaves Tahiti with world title motivation

By Lachlan Geleit

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Australia’s Jack Robinson was stoked to claim silver in the men’s surfing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While most of the events are being held in the French capital, the surfing took place in French Polynesia’s Tahiti at the world-famous Teauhupo’o break - over 15,000km away from Paris - where the barreling conditions suited the West Australian.

Robinson took out world champions John John Florence and Gabriel Medina as well as Aussie teammate Ethan Ewing en route to the final but eventually went down to hometown hero Kauli Vaast in the decider.

Mother nature simply didn’t offer Robinson the wave he needed to match Vaast’s two-wave score of 17.67 and while the Aussie lamented not being offered a chance by the ocean to prove his worth, he was still stoked with the overall result. 

“I’m stoked, silver or gold,” Robinson told SEN Whateley.

“In that moment, honestly with Mother Nature I just needed one more shot (to win gold).

“But it’s the whole journey, it doesn’t really matter the colour of it, it’s my life’s work and I’m proud of it.

“It’s just the way it went, he got two waves, I got one.

“In the final, you just need to be on the best wave and surfing goes like that sometimes, you’re relying on mother nature.

“It was an amazing moment and I’m looking forward to many more.”

While Vaast set up the final with a huge score of 9.50 followed by an 8.17, the 2023 Tahiti Pro champion was confident he could have gotten the 9.85 needed to win if the ocean gave him the long, barrelling wave that was needed to receive such a score.

“I was going to wait for my one shot, I knew I could get it with one score,” Robinson said.

“I wasn’t in a combination needing two scores … I knew if the wave came I would do the rest and leave it up to the judges. 

“I was super confident … but if the wave came or if it didn’t … but it’s all good, it’s just how it goes.

“It was his moment … all props to him and it’s all good.”

After his Olympic success, Robinson returns to the World Surf League’s Championship Tour where he ranks third overall with one stop remaining before the WSL Finals in California’s San Clemente.

Robinson says his Tahiti experience has given him the motivation to finish the final event in Fiji well before pushing for a first world title in early September.

“I feel this was meant to be this result at the Olympics,” Robinson said.

“It gives me the fire and the motivation and you need that … it doesn’t come easy. 

“I went against pretty much the whole top five on the tour here, that’s what I needed, I love the challenge.”

The top five surfers from both the men’s and women’s championship tours qualify for the WSL Finals where the overall title is decided.

Robinson ranks third in the men’s with countryman Ethan Ewing in fifth. In the women’s Molly Picklum ranks fourth.

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