France’s Kauli Vaast, who rode his home wave in Polynesia to Olympic gold, says he got some extra spiritual help.
Kauli Vaast says a supernatural force in Polynesian culture helped him win Olympic surfing gold in his native Tahiti.
Vaast on Monday became the first Olympic champion from the French Pacific island.
“The mana was with me from the start, every day I felt it,” the 22-year-old told AFP, referring to a supernatural force that, according to Polynesian beliefs, permeates the universe.
“I couldn’t see it but I felt it, and ‘voila’, I did it – an Olympic champion,” he said.
Vaast beat Australia’s Jack Robinson in the gold medal final, taking the two best waves of a high-level match.
The entire island rooted for him.
“As soon as the first two waves were caught, we were all there blowing for there to be no more, and it worked,” joked French Polynesia’s President Moetai Brotherson.
Tahiti, with the majestic Teahupo’o waves that often reach 2-3 metres (6.5-10 feet) and sometimes a lot higher, hosted a spectacular surfing competition, which was extended until Monday due to unfavourable winds last week.
Vaast’s mother, Natou Thupalua, opted for some garden therapy to calm her nerves.
“When he competes in Tahiti, I garden,” she said. “I planted anthuriums.”
The newly crowned Olympic champion said he might need to do a bit of work in the garden now, too.
“When I get home, I’m going to have to use the rake because she cut everything,” he smiled.
Tahiti is the winner
Thousands of Polynesians cheered their champion Johanne Defay from the French island of Reunion, who won bronze in the women’s final.
Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil, who went into the Olympic Games as a widely tipped favourite, took the men’s bronze.
Surfing was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games and the success of the competition in Tahiti will help to further establish it on the programme.
Tahiti, nearly 16,000 kilometres (9,940 miles) from Paris, was selected to host the second Olympic surfing competition in history with the aim of including France’s overseas territories in the Games.
And the surfing competition could prove a long-term bonus for Tahiti.
The Olympic surfing event generated spectacular images and “an extraordinary promotional operation” for local tourism, said President Brotherson.
Winning on his home turf of Teahupo’o was “the cherry on the cake”, Vaast said. “For all of France, for all of Polynesia, it’s incredible.”
