Amazing moment: a whale jumped in the background of the surfing semifinal in Tahiti
8 august 2024 в 00:50
On August 5, during the semi-final surfing competition between Brazilian athlete Weston-Webb and Costa Rican athlete Hennessy on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, a whale jumped in the distance, creating a picturesque spectacle.
According to the Associated Press and CBS News, in Tahiti, the location of the surfing competition at the Paris Games, which is about 10,000 miles from the host city of Paris, whales gather around the islands during mating, birthing, and migration seasons. Tahiti also has several marine protected areas.
Indigenous leaders in Tahiti were among those who signed a treaty granting legal personhood to whales earlier this year, a move aimed at pressuring governments for more effective protection from threats such as climate change and noise pollution.
Weston-Webb later advanced to the final on the same day, where she competed against American Caroline Marks. Marks, who finished fourth in Tokyo, ultimately brought home the gold for the USA team.
«To win the final, you had to get in the barrel, which is every surfer’s dream at Teahupo’o», - she said after her victory. «Overall, I’m very happy. It was an amazing day».
Weston-Webb took home the silver, while the bronze was won by Frenchwoman Johanne Defay.
The whale jump was not the only exciting moment at the surfing competition at the Games. A photo of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, seemingly floating in the air, went viral on July 29 after photographer Jerome Bruye from Agence France-Presse captured the moment.
Medina defeated the winner of the 2021 Tokyo surfing competition, Kanoa Igarashi, on the third day of the Games. With his almost perfect score of 9.90, he set the highest score in Olympic history. The victory was accompanied by a legendary shot, with the surfer floating in the air with his surfboard in perfect position behind him.
The photo garnered nearly 9 million likes on Medina’s Instagram alone. Photographer Bruye shared on his Instagram that «Gabriel was in the water at the right place, at the right time, and so was I», - adding that his phone is still «buzzing non-stop»
According to the Associated Press and CBS News, in Tahiti, the location of the surfing competition at the Paris Games, which is about 10,000 miles from the host city of Paris, whales gather around the islands during mating, birthing, and migration seasons. Tahiti also has several marine protected areas.
Indigenous leaders in Tahiti were among those who signed a treaty granting legal personhood to whales earlier this year, a move aimed at pressuring governments for more effective protection from threats such as climate change and noise pollution.
Weston-Webb later advanced to the final on the same day, where she competed against American Caroline Marks. Marks, who finished fourth in Tokyo, ultimately brought home the gold for the USA team.
«To win the final, you had to get in the barrel, which is every surfer’s dream at Teahupo’o», - she said after her victory. «Overall, I’m very happy. It was an amazing day».
Weston-Webb took home the silver, while the bronze was won by Frenchwoman Johanne Defay.
The whale jump was not the only exciting moment at the surfing competition at the Games. A photo of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, seemingly floating in the air, went viral on July 29 after photographer Jerome Bruye from Agence France-Presse captured the moment.
Medina defeated the winner of the 2021 Tokyo surfing competition, Kanoa Igarashi, on the third day of the Games. With his almost perfect score of 9.90, he set the highest score in Olympic history. The victory was accompanied by a legendary shot, with the surfer floating in the air with his surfboard in perfect position behind him.
The photo garnered nearly 9 million likes on Medina’s Instagram alone. Photographer Bruye shared on his Instagram that «Gabriel was in the water at the right place, at the right time, and so was I», - adding that his phone is still «buzzing non-stop»
© Smirnova Olga
