“Surfing will never be Olympic”. The phrase is heard in The Impossible Wavethe film that tells the milestone that placed Fernando Aguerre in the great history of Argentine and world sport. The Mar del Plata native was the first national manager to have his sport included in the Games, something very unlikely, first because we are talking about an Argentine in a sport where our country does not dominate and second, because almost no one in the international environment believed it could happen.
“I often heard that he was a lunatic and even I thought it was crazy, but I never stopped, I kept paddling the wave and I was able to surf it,” says the man who enjoyed it like no one else when the first edition arrived in Tokyo in 2021, after the pandemic delayed the dream for a year.
For this second edition, the Argentine went for more and convinced the International Olympic Committee that surfing should leave France and compete on another continent. Due to the lack of waves in the European summer, the International Surfing Association (ISA) headed by Aguerre proposed the island of Tahiti, in French Polynesia, on the grounds that there would be the best waves in the world at that time…
“It wasn’t easy at all, it took me a long time, but The IOC understood that in these weeks, in France, there was a great chance that there would be no waves and that the change would not only allow them to continue in France but also go to the best court where a tournament of this importance could be held.“It will really be a dream come true,” says this 66-year-old from Mar del Plata who has dedicated his life to surfing since those early days in the 1970s.
This will be only the second time in Olympic history that something like this has happened. In 1956, the equestrian event was held in Sweden – and not in Melbourne, Australia, the Olympic venue – due to the difficulty of transporting the horses. Now it will be for a sporting reason. Starting on the 27th, there will be competition on the four best days of waves, within a nine-day window, on a break as famous and beautiful as it is challenging and terrifying. A magical place located on the largest island in French Polynesia.
“We are talking about a small town that has only one road that does not even go around the entire island.. A place far from the rest of the world, one of the last places to be reached by civilization and which maintains many of its roots and customs. In addition, there is a marked surfing culture. Teahupoo is one of the iconic places for our sport in the world,” he says.
What makes it special?
“It has a coral reef, one and a half meters under water, in the shape of a ring, where impressive tubes are produced.Unlike other breaks, where surfers ride down the wave and then perform various maneuvers for 10/15 seconds to get the best scores, at Teahupoo it’s something else, faster and more radical: you ride down the vertical wave almost in the air, you turn and get into the tube and then try to get out, trying not to get knocked over by the foam ball that forms when the wave is breaking…
The size of the wave is measured, how difficult the ride is, how deep you were in the barrel and how long you stayed inside. The judges see the waves from the front and from the side, with special cameras, so they can score accurately. It is one of the most complex waves in the world and in this tournament there will be the best surfers on the planet, 24 women and 24 men, from 21 countries and five continents. We expect a tremendous competition, in the best possible place,” she says.
Fernando says this with the happiness of knowing that his sport is here to stay at the Games.It is now definitely confirmed, for Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032“He adds, explaining the reasons that allowed his sport to have such a rapid impact on the Olympic movement. “First, there is no other sport that is contested on waves and with this force of nature. In addition, surfing has become very popular, reaching people that we can measure on social networks, especially among young people. It gives the Games another impetus, adding another appeal to young people,” he analyses.
This time, however, there will be no Argentine surfers among the 48 competitors – men and women. In Tokyo, Lele Usuna was there and now only Aguerre will represent us, presiding over the organization of the competition. The same one who became the first national leader to achieve that his sport be an Olympic sport.A dream achievement, really. To have achieved this, for the sport that gave me everything, is the most beautiful thing.. It took decades of work to give something back to my beloved surfing,” explains the man who has been president of the ISA for 30 years -9 re-elections-, the federation that celebrated its 60th anniversary in May. “And all this time working pro bono, with a lot of love and pride. I feel like this is my gold medal,” he says emotionally hours before the trip to Tahiti, with his family. The dream continues.
The Great Wave Trailer
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
