Surfing at the Paris Olympics will be held in Tahiti and Australia has a talented wave warrior ready to take on the Teahupo’o tubes, writes senior correspondent Mike Osborne.
As a grommet pretending to be Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning as he surfed his local Margaret River break, the Olympics were not on young Jack Robinson’s mind.
Life was simply about the next wave for the Perth-born kid who learned to surf as soon as he could walk and moved with his family to the Margaret River aged six.
Fast forward two decades and Robinson, 26, is shaping as a strong Australian medal hope heading into the Paris Games, where the surfing will be staged in the French Pacific territory of Tahiti.
“Honestly, when I was surfing Margaret River as a kid, I was just living in the moment, enjoying every wave,” he said. “I always dreamed of a professional career, but the Olympics wasn’t on the radar back then.”
Surfing was included at the Olympics for the first time at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 where Robinson’s Aussie colleague Owen Wright won bronze.
“Surfing being included in the Olympics was a dream come true, and now having the chance to compete myself feels surreal,” he said.
“It’s an incredible honour to represent Australia on such a massive stage. It’s a unique opportunity to showcase our sport to a global audience, and I’m stoked to bring my best for Australia.
“I’ve talked to Owen Wright and a few other athletes who have experienced the Olympics.
“Their insights on handling the pressure, staying focused, and embracing the Olympic spirit have been invaluable. It’s great to learn from their experiences to better prepare myself mentally and physically.”
The challenging barrel wave off the Tahitian village of Teahupo’o will be tough, but Robinson will head into the Olympics with confidence having won the tour event there in 2023.
He’s also had two victories this year at the Sunset Pro at Oahu in Hawaii and on his home break at Margaret River.
And he is no stranger to handling the big barrels, having first surfed Hawaii’s Pipeline when he was 11, and winning the Billabong Pro event there last year.
At this year’s Tahiti Pro event Robinson was dominating his elimination round until Brazilian world No.22 Yago Dora scored a deep and long tube at the death to snatch victory by 0.67 of a point.
Australia’s other Olympic surfing team members also missed out in Tahiti this year with world No. 4 Ethan Ewing losing to 11-time world champion Kelly Slater in the round of 16 while in the women’s event both Molly Picklum and Tyler Wright fell in the quarter finals.
Robinson remains the world ranked No.3 surfer heading into the next event in El Salvador and while he’ll be disappointed not to have gone further at Tahiti, the latest lessons of Teahupo’o will not be forgotten ahead of the Olympics.
His opening heat at the Games will be against world No. 21 South African Matthew McGillivray and French veteran Joan Duru who is currently competing in the tier 2 Challenger Series. Ewing’s opening heat in Tahiti will be against world No.6 South African Jordy Smith and German Tim Elter, who currently competes on the tier 3 Qualifying Series.
In the women’s Olympic event world No.3 Picklum faces a tough opening heat against world No.2 American Caitlin Simmer and Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb who is ranked No.7, while former world champion Wright will take on Canadian Samoa Dempfle-Olin and Israel’s Anat Lelior, both from the qualifying series, in her opening heat in Tahiti.
More than 6,000km east of Sydney in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Tahiti is about halfway between Australia and South America. Teahupo’o is on the island’s south west coast and its shallow coral reef creates a hollow breaking wave that regularly reaches between two and three metres but can get up to seven metres in heavy conditions.
The big barrels create challenging but exciting conditions for surfers and have hosted an annual event on the professional tour for the past quarter century.
“Teahupo’o is definitely up there as one of my favourite breaks,” Robinson said. “The power and challenge it offers are unmatched.”
Robinson understands that the Olympics, which come once every four years, are a very different prospect to the regular events on the World Surf League tour.
“The Olympics will have a different vibe,” he said. “They carry a unique prestige and a sense of national pride that you don’t get at other events.”
And how would an Olympic gold medal compare to a world championship?
“Both would be monumental achievements, but in different ways,” he says.
”Winning an Olympic gold medal would be an historic moment, not just for me but for Australian surfing as a whole. It’s about representing my country on the world stage.
“On the other hand, a world championship is the culmination of a year-long effort against the best in the sport. Both are dreams of mine and would be career-defining accomplishments.”
It is former world champions including Slater and Fanning that inspired the young Robinson.
“Growing up, I looked up to Kelly Slater, Andy and Bruce Irons, Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning,” he said
“Their skill, determination, and sportsmanship were incredibly inspiring. Watching them compete and dominate the sport motivated me to push my limits and dream big.”
Two major events in the past year or so have helped shape Robinson’s dreams as he heads into the Olympics.
The first was a bad knee injury suffered at Bells Beach last year when he was world ranked No.1 but was forced out of the water for four months. The second, and more important for Robinson and his wife, Brazilian model Julia Muniz, was the birth of their son Zen.
“Becoming a father has brought a new perspective to everything, including surfing,” Robinson said. “It’s given me an extra drive and purpose.
“I want to make my family proud and show my son what it means to chase your dreams with passion and dedication.
“Zen has been coming everywhere on tour with me and my wife this year and it’s a unique experience having our baby experiencing all of this.”
And Robinson, known on tour for sitting cross-legged to meditate to help stay calm, says the old knee injury doesn’t bother him.
“I’m happy to say that my knee is fully recovered,” he said. “It was a tough road, but I put in countless hours of physio rehab – more than five hours a day at the start.
“I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team of physiotherapists, doctors, massage therapists, and everyone who was pivotal in my comeback. Their support and expertise were crucial.
“Now, I feel 100 per cent confident in my knee and more prepared than ever to take on whatever the waves throw at me.”
What advice would he give that young grommet surfing Margaret River some 20 years ago.
“I would tell my younger self to stay patient and trust the process. There will be ups and downs, but each experience is a stepping stone,” he said.
“I wouldn’t change much because every part of the journey, including the challenges, has shaped who I am. But a little more patience and self-belief would have made some tough times a bit easier.
“It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m grateful for every step that brought me here.”
Michael Osborne has been a journalist for more than four decades including 35 years with the national news agency Australian Associated Press, rising from junior reporter to Editor.
He was AAP Editor for 11 years and served four years as Head of Sport and Racing. He was also posted to London and Beijing as AAP’s Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent.
He has worked at six Olympics and five Commonwealth Games, covered tennis grand slams, golf majors, international cricket, rugby world cups and numerous sporting world championships. He also co-ordinated and managed AAP’s teams and coverage at three Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
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