Advertisement

A whale breach during the Olympic surfing semifinals made Tahiti even more magical

christian d'andrea
·1-min read
TOPSHOT - A whale breaches as Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy (R) competes in the women's surfing semi-finals, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on August 5, 2024. (Photo by Jerome BROUILLET / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by JEROME BROUILLET/AFP via Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: 2164997397

The 2024 Paris Olympics were already set in some of the most picturesque places on earth. But it turns out local Tahitians weren't the only ones enjoying the views at this year's surfing semifinals.

A whale briefly stole the show as competitors were paddling out to sea, breaching beyond the break to take a quick view of the event. It rose a solid 10 feet from the surface before crashing back to the water and swimming away. It was yet another reminder that Tahiti -- part of French Polynesia in the middle of the Pacific Ocean -- is an absolutely stunning backdrop for any occasion.

Photographers covering the event were also able to catch the whale's brief foray into dry air even better.

A whale breaches as Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb and Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy (R) compete in the women's surfing semi-finals, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on August 5, 2024. (Photo by Jerome BROUILLET / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by JEROME BROUILLET/AFP via Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: 2164997057

Thus, the Paris Olympics were given yet another blatant example of why water events in the open ocean are roughly a million times better than staging them in the E. coli-stained currents of the Seine River.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: A whale breach during the Olympic surfing semifinals made Tahiti even more magical