TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti — A strong U.S. team set the standard as Olympic surfing got underway in the beautiful and sometimes brutal waves of Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Saturday, with reigning world champion Caroline Marks charging to the highest heat score of the day.
Vahine Fierro was another standout in the clean and overhead barrels, perfect conditions for the Tahitian local surfing her first Olympic heat at her home break. “I woke up with butterflies in my stomach, of excitement and also a little bit nervous,” said Fierro. “But once I touched the water, I felt really comfortable out there.
“I was able to pick the right boards, the right waves and I’m really happy with my performance.” Fierro’s win in her heat was a popular one among the limited number of boats watching from the channel and the smattering of spectators able to negotiate numerous checkpoints on the way to “The End of the Road” at Teahupo’o. In the final heat of the day, Carissa Moore, who won gold for the U.
S. at Tokyo, caught two bombs in the final five minutes including a nine-point ride in a 16.5 heat total.
But the women’s performance of the day belonged to Marks, who scored a near perfect 9.43 and backed it up with an 8.5 for being spat out of two deep, long tubes.
China’s first Olympic surfer, 15-year-old Yang Siqi, earned respect for sending it in training surfs and in her heat, but took some heavy wipeouts and lost to Spain’s Nadia Erostarbe. France’s Johanne Defay also took .