Teahupoo (France) (AFP)

The story goes that it was two Tahitian brothers, 'Camion' and 'Camionnette', who discovered the "ideal" and "ultra powerful" wave of Teahupo'o.

Immortalized by champion Laird Hamilton with a legendary photo, this magic hit will roll out its blue carpet to welcome surfing during the Olympic Games in 2024.

This wave, so special for being as wide as it is high and being able to reach five meters in size, will be the spot for the Games in 2024 after surfing entered the Olympic program this summer in Tokyo.

"In Japan it's going to be lousy. Those who are going to watch will say: + Is this surfing? Bof +. But at Teahupo'o, they will say: + oh la la! + The IOC (International Olympic Committee) will then say that it's worth it to continue with the surf! ", proudly launches Patrick Juventin, who created the Tahitian Surfing Federation in 1989, and who does not budge:" Surfing is Polynesian, it was not born in Hawaii . "

- Reef -

Teahupo'o is a wave offering almost translucent tubes, like a tunnel of turquoise water.

A must-see on the professional circuit, it attracts surfers from all over the world.

Forty years ago it was the business of only a few.

At the time, Polynesians surfed the waves close to their homes, 'beach breaks' (the waves break on a sandbank near the edge).

But from their playground, Teahupo'o offered a breathtaking spectacle.

The equipment was rudimentary and towed surfing did not exist, this 'tow-in' which allows the surfer pulled by a jet-ski to be launched on waves of more than three meters.

Some have nevertheless ventured with the strength of arms and legs on this reef wave.

On the volcanic island of Tahiti, the swell comes from a very significant depth.

It comes up against a very shallow reef, is therefore not braked and ends up stuck against the reef (horizontal surface of a submarine shoal) to give gigantic heights and thicknesses, explains Jérôme Rigaudie, professor of Polynesian geography and surfer history.

"The reef wave is the perfect wave," recounts Tahitian surfing legend Arsène Harehoe, who first took it in 1984.

"The beach waves are farting everywhere, this one is a rolling wave, it is so beautiful. The first time I went it was huge, beautiful, fabulous. I crossed the reef but it was 'is the fare when you surf Teahupo'o, it's better to cross it than to take it on your head. "

- 'The bomb' -

And then one day, in 2000, the wave with the thick lip leaves the confidentiality to become "the wave of the millennium".

On August 17, 2000, the Californian surfer Laird Hamilton launched himself on the Tahitian beast of more than three meters in height to offer himself a monumental tube.

A moment captured forever by Australian photographer Tim McKenna, whose shot will travel around the world.

"Laird Hamilton took this wave that came out of nowhere, it relaunched his career and it consolidated the place of Teahupo'o as one of the most beautiful spots in the world," said McKenna, from his home in Paea , about fifty kilometers from Teahupo'o.

"This is how Teahupo'o works, in a day, there will always be a wave much bigger than the others, almost double. Today, everyone wants this big wave, they are waiting for THE bomb of the day. At the time, Laird had taken that wave, "says the photographer.

As beautiful as it is, the wave remains particularly dangerous because of the shallow reef.

There was one death and many injured, some of whom became crippled.

© 2021 AFP