Surfing in Tahiti: The long road to the Olympics
One Olympic record for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has already been broken. Never before has a competition been held so far away from the host city — but the phenomena isn't new.
Surfing paradise Tahiti becomes Olympic
Surfing returns to its roots: the South Sea. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, the event will take place in surfing paradise Teahupoo. The island, one that belongs to the French Polynesia, is 15,760 kilometers from host city Paris. It's an Olympic record, even if only just!
Quarantine law leads to Olympic participation
15,589 kilometers separate Melbourne and Stockholm. The Australian city hosted the 1956 games, but in Australia horses are required to undergo six months of quarantine before they can compete. As a result, the IOC allowed the equestrian events were held separately. Five months before the games in Melbourne, riders headed to Sweden's capital Stockholm to compete for Olympic gold.
The first decentralized games in Grenoble
The expression "The Games of distance" was first used in 1968. The Games in Grenoble, France broke with the tradition of having as many events in one place. Instead, the Games were held across five further places, up to 65 kilometers away. In Val d'Isere, "only" 30km away from Grenoble, local hero Jean Claude Killy (pictured above) won gold in the downhill.
Environmental sin in Albertville
The Winter Games in 1992 in France also took decentralization to an extreme. Nine events took place as far away as 118 kilometers from host city Albertville. Some of the locations were only accessible via mountain roads. For this reason, many environmentalists protested the games, not to mention because of the evasive work done to build the bobsleigh run in La Plagne.
Hundreds of kilometers away
There were even greater distances in the Summer Games in Montreal in 1976. Host city Montreal saw some Olympic football games take place in Toronto, 540 kilometers away. The sailing events were also hosted away from Montreal, in Kingston, on Lake Ontario, 209kms from the host city.
Tokyo too hot and humid
The forthcoming summer Olympics, in Tokyo 2020, includes an 800 kilometer detour. In August, the temperatures are too high and the air is too humid to run, marathons and running events will take place in Hokkaido on the north island of Japan. The open water swimmers will take a similar hit to avoid the warm waters around Tokyo.
From Beijing into the mountains
Beijing is anything but a winter sports hub, but they are hosts of the 2022 Winter Games. The IOC took the long distances into account though, which is why the ski events will take place in the Xiaohaituo mountains — 190 kilometers from Beijing. At least there though, winter sports are known - as the school children in the photo above demonstrate.
Spectacle guaranteed
And yet, France's decision to have the surfing in Tahiti is by far the greatest distance from the host city. Nevertheless, as the photo above proves, spectacular moments in the South Sea are guaranteed in the 2024 Olympics, even if they are 15,760 kilometers from the other events.