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Suddenly the Olympics. It was only in December that Tim Elter became the youngest team member in the German national surfing team to replace an injured colleague. Just three months later, at the ISA World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, he achieved what hardly anyone expected - qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
His predecessor, Leon Glatzer, also came to cheer and celebrate. He competed for Germany at the last Summer Games in Tokyo.
Elter now trains regularly in Munich, far away from the beach. Hobby surfing on Fuerteventura, Parent's home, is no longer enough.
Tim Elter, Olympic surfer:
»Surfing is still quite new at the Olympics and after Leon Glatzer's qualification in 2021, I think my eyes and many Germans opened up and we thought: okay, that's really possible, that's doable. And I was 17 when that happened, and it's been my big goal ever since and it happened faster than I expected."
Welter's rise runs parallel to the further development of surfing, which only became Olympic in 2021. Since his unexpected qualification, the 20-year-old's previous self-doubts have also disappeared.
Tim Elter, Olympic surfer:
»I think I absolutely belong there. I am one of the best in the world. And I also believe that I can do something there. I'm sure that an Olympics is in the cards for me, ideally gold. And that's why I'm going to train very hard over the next few months to do my best there."
The vision of Paris has come true. However, Welter will not see the French capital at all. The surfing competitions take place in Tahiti, the French overseas territory in the South Pacific - because the necessary waves can be found there.