Kauli Vaast of Tahiti and Team USA's Caroline Marks both won gold on Monday, capping off a dramatic few days of competition that even included a brief appearance by a whale.
AFP photographer Jerome Brouillet captured the Brazilian world champion Gabriel Medina surfing through a huge wave in a ride that would net an Olympic-record score.
This is the second Olympics to feature surfing, but it’s the first time competitors are riding waves that are a matter of “life or death,” according to professional big wave surfer Garrett McNamara.
Olympic surfing events are taking place in Teahupo’o, a small village nearly 9,800 miles from the host city of Paris. The path to Tahiti has been years in the making, and not without controversy.
A school in Peru is part of a wave of community-based projects around the world that uses a perhaps surprising method to help kids: surf therapy. And it's not just about physical well-being.
The 5-year-old female southern sea otter was first seen hijacking surfboards in Santa Cruz last September. Officials successfully drove the otter away from the area, but she has since returned.
A schoolteacher in Hawaii connected with a student through skateboarding, only to find out he couldn't afford a board of his own. She started a grassroots organization to fix that.
Surfing often gives off an endless summer, meditative, chill vibe. But at the Olympics, athletes have to focus on skills, tricks and points, and, of course, looking for the perfect wave.
