Big Moments in Tahiti

Watch the world’s elite athletes risk life and limb on a reef so sharp it could double as a cheese grater.

Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29, 2024. Jerome Brouillet/ AFP via Getty Images

The 2024 Olympic surfing competition was held at the notorious Teahupo’o in Tahiti—a wave so fearsome it makes the Grim Reaper look like a lifeguard on a coffee break.

This isn’t just any wave; it’s a snarling beast that has claimed five lives and countless close calls, including the tragic demise of local legend Briece Taere in 2001, who was tragically sucked over the falls of a 12-footer.

Big Wave Surfing

In the sport of surfing, there’s surfing, and then there’s big wave surfing.