Moore and Florence win their heats and advance to Olympic surfing

The Hawaiian surfers representing the United States got off to a strong start at the Paris Olympics on Saturday during the first round of the surfing competition in the beautiful and sometimes wild waves of Teahupo’o, Tahiti.

Reigning gold medallist Carissa Moore and John John Florence both advanced straight to the third round on Monday, having won their heats on Saturday.

“Yeah, the waves were fun,” Florence said. “There’s a lot of possibilities, so you can just keep surfing. That’s my favorite way to surf in the heat.”

Moore, a Punahou alumnus, competed in the eighth and final heat of the day and won with a two-wave score of 16.50. Moore caught two big waves in the final five minutes, including a 9.0 ride, to beat Japan’s Shino Matsuda (11.16) and Portugal’s Teresa Bonvalot (10.34).

The other two surfers in Moore’s heat will compete in the second round scheduled for today. Also competing today is Tatiana Weston-Webb of Kauai, representing Brazil. She came in second (10.33) in Heat 4, which was won by Caitlin Simmers of the United States with a score of 12.93.

Moore’s total score was only bettered by compatriot and reigning world champion Caroline Marks, who scored a 17.93 in the first heat for the highest score of the day. Marks’ scores were 9.43 and 8.5.

Florence of Haleiwa opened the men’s surfing competition with scores of 9.33 and 8.00 on his two best waves and finished with a score of 17.33, beating Mexico’s Alan Cleland Quinonez (14.34) and Spain’s Andy Criere (12.00).

Vahine Fierro also excelled in the clean and overhead barrels, perfect conditions for the local Tahitian surfer surfing her first Olympic heat on her home course.

“I woke up with butterflies in my stomach, excitement and a little nervous,” Fierro said. “But once I hit the water, I felt really comfortable there.

“I was able to choose the right boards and waves and I am very happy with my performance.”

The quarterfinals, semifinals and bronze and gold medal matches are scheduled for Tuesday.