Risking Life And Limb For Glory: Olympic Surf Competition To Be Held On World’s ‘heaviest Wave’

Jack Dolan | (TNS) Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — The world’s “heaviest wave” is born near the South Pole, where fierce storms pound the ocean’s surface like angry fists, sending pulses of energy racing north, unimpeded, for thousands of miles. That force is all but invisible until it suddenly rides up a steep, smooth ramp on the ocean floor, curls into a spectacular barrel — more like a slab of concrete than water — and slams, with astonishing fury, into a razor-sharp coral reef on the southern tip of Tahiti. Locals call the wave Teahupo’o, which loosely translates to “wall of skulls.” It has fascinated and terrified the world’s elite ocean athletes since it was first surfed in the 1980s. In the coming days, Teahupo’o (pronounced “cho-poo”), just offshore of its namesake fishing village on the island’s lush coast, will become the site of the second Olympic surfing tournament.