How a San Diego photographer captured Olympic surfing in Tahiti
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Gold medalist Caroline Marks of Team USA rides a wave on day six of the Paris games in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
The surfing competition provided some big moments of the Paris 2024 Olympics, and veteran San Diego photographer Sean Haffey captured hundreds of them.
Why it matters: Fans would have missed those beautiful, suspenseful, jaw-dropping, viral moments in Tahiti if not for the photographers working from a fishing boat near the dangerous surf break, getting the closest view possible.
Zoom in: Haffey, shooting for Getty Images, and a handful of other photographers in the International Olympic Press Pool spent 11 hours a day on a rocking boat about 1,500 yards offshore with no bathroom or shade.
- They shot every heat and every surfer on every wave, and each day filed about 125 photos remotely from the water through wind and rain using a WiFi network specifically set up for the event.
What he's saying: "I knew going in that it would be one of the premier visual events for the Olympics because it has potential to be so dramatic," Haffey said.
- "It's so different from most Olympic sports because the majority of Olympic sports don't have a high element of danger," Haffey said.
Between the lines: Haffey has photographed nearly every sport across 10 olympiads (both summer and winter), plus World Surf League stops in California and two surfing world championships. But none compare to this experience, he said. And he was at the finish line for Usain Bolt's races and at the pool with Michael Phelps.
- This assignment was the best because of Teahupo'o — the infamous wave described as intense, exhilarating, magical and terrifying by Olympic surfers.
- "No waves really match up to this wave when it's good," Haffey said, so he doesn't think any future surfing venue will be this unique.
The intrigue: Haffey was most impressed by the fearless, tough, teenage female surfers like Oceanside's Caitlin Simmers and China's Siqi Yang, who he described as Evel Knievel taking on waves most wouldn't drop into.
The vibe: Unlike in big cities, these games had a "grassroots feel" in the sleepy fishing village in French Polynesia, 10,000 miles from Paris, where surfers ran into locals and photographers at the store, Haffey said.
- The Tahitians host pros here every year and they were "consumed with the surfing" — especially the events with French surfers.
- "Surfing is kind of what put this place on the map," Haffey said, "so I think they were really proud to show the place off, and it was really special."
What's next: Catch the best pro surfers Sept. 6-14 in San Clemente at the Lexus WSL finals, where a new world champion could be crowned.
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