Tahitian surfer Vahine Fierro on Saturday showed what a threat she would be at the Olympics with a commanding first-round performance at the Games venue of Teahupo’o, at the start of the professional tour’s Shisheido Tahiti Pro.
The 23-year-old wildcard, who qualified to represent France at Paris, threaded two glorious tubes at her home break, including a 9.33 out of a possible 10 to send world tour leader and fellow Olympian Caitlin Simmers of the US packing. Fierro’s heat total of 16.13 out of 20 was the highest of the day.
“Today, it’s the first time in this event that I ever get that good of a wave,” a beaming Fierro said. “The waves are kind of slow, but when they come, [such] good waves.”
Photo: AFP
Hawaii’s John John Florence, who is to represent the US at the Olympics in two months, was a standout on the men’s draw, but was looking ahead to even bigger, better waves forecast for a few days’ time.
“I love coming back here and being able to surf this amazing wave,” he said after dominating his first-round matchup with Indonesia’s Rio Waida and Brazil’s Yago Dora. “It looks like we have a lot of good swell coming, so I’m super excited for that. Hopefully, it’s like it was a few years back when it was 10 foot [3m], nonstop.”
Kelly Slater, the 11-time world champion who was granted a wildcard after missing the mid-year cut, was another standout. The 52-year-old sent reigning Tahiti Pro champion Jack Robinson and Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam to the elimination round with the men’s second-highest heat score of the day.
A potent mix of beauty and brutality, Teahupo’o has long been a favored stop on the professional world tour with Slater claiming a record five wins at what is also known as “the end of the road.”
However, the powerful waves and shallow reef have taken lives and injured top surfers including Australia’s Ethan Ewing, who fractured two vertebrae in a warm up for the Tahiti Pro last year.
Olympics governing body the International Surfing Association this week recommended that surfers wear protective headwear when competing at Teahupo’o during the Games.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS