A whale leaps out of the water as Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb (left) and Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy compete in the women’s surfing semifinals on Monday.
Jerome Brouillet/AFP via Getty Images
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Spectators at the Olympic women’s surfing competition won’t just be able to watch the athletes compete on Monday. They were also surprised to see a curious whale appear.
Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb and Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy were waiting for a wave in their semi-finals when they spotted something even more dramatic: a whale leaping headfirst out of the water, known as the Gap .
“Wow,” one commentator exclaimed as the scene unfolded. “That’s incredible.”
“That’s 10,” said another.
The photographer was even able to capture a few photos of the whale at close range. These are just the latest in a series of iconic photos from the four-day surf competition.
Whale sightings are not uncommon in French Polynesia between July and November, when pods of humpback whales migrate to warmer waters to breed and raise their calves. Whaling is illegal there and swimming with whales is a popular tourist activity.
Tahiti’s indigenous leaders and leaders from several island nations signed a treaty earlier this year giving the whales legal person status, an unusual move aimed at forcing the government to do more to protect them Protection from threats such as climate change and noise pollution.
A whale leapt out of the water as Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy competed in the women’s surfing semifinals in Tehubao, Tahiti, French Polynesia on Monday. Later in the day, American Caroline Marks took home the gold medal.
Jerome Brouillet/AFP via Getty Images
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The big break wasn’t the only big news on the final day of Olympic surfing competition on Monday.
Weston-Webb advanced to the finals later in the day against American Caroline Marks. Marquez finished fourth in Tokyo and ended up winning the gold medal for Team USA.
“To win the final, you have to be in the barrel, which is what you dream about when you’re surfing Teahupo’o,” she said afterward, referring to the infamous wave. “Overall, (I’m) really happy. It was a great day.
Weston Webb won silver and France’s John Defe took bronze.
From left, Brazilian silver medalist Tatiana Weston-Webb, U.S. gold medalist Caroline Marks and French bronze medalist Johnny Default attend the women’s surfing podium in Tahiti on Monday ceremony.
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In the men’s competition, French player Kauli Vaast from Tahiti defeated Australian player Jack Robinson in just two waves in the final to win the gold medal. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina (you may recognize him as the guy completely airborne in that viral photo last week) was third.
Vaster, 22, received a hero’s welcome as he returned to shore, with screams of victory and tears from the crowd. He later told reporters that it meant more to win Olympic gold “at home, on the best wave in the world.”
“I’m lucky to finally find a rhythm in a big game like this,” he added. “I really have ‘mana,’ that’s what we have here, the spirit and the energy that everyone, all the Polynesians are giving me, I can feel it. It’s special.
France’s Cauley Vast celebrates after winning the men’s surfing final on Monday.
Jerome Brouillet/AFP via Getty Images
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Jerome Brouillet/AFP via Getty Images
