“Surfing on the Seine is great, it’s amazing, but doing it with the Eiffel Tower behind you is even more special.”

My time is Paris is coming to an end and I have thoroughly enjoyed this month. The City of Light was electric the whole time, as the local population had shut down ahead of the 2024 Olympics, fearing traffic congestion and general nastiness. Instead, it was a paradise on earth. Restaurants were within easy reach, foie gras flowed like white wine. When the surfing portion of the games began about ten days ago, I was sad that our heroes and heroines were forced to eat poisson cru 10,000 miles away in the middle of the Pacific.

Well, at least things have improved for bronze medalist Gabriel Medina, who came and dined in proper bistros while getting a little trolled, and for gold medalist Kauli Vaast, who made Filipe Toledo’s dreams come true by surfing a man-made, less-than-knee-high wave on the famous Seine.

The two-time Brazilian champion previously made headlines when he suggested that future Olympic surfing competitions should be held in swimming pools. He said: “I think every four years the athletes have to be prepared for this unique moment that is the Olympics and be sure that they will do their best!”

The attractive Frenchman had to work hard to get ahead, but he seems to be enjoying his time and explains: “Surfing in the Seine is great, it’s amazing, but doing it with the Eiffel Tower behind you is even more special.”

As you know, Paris made a huge effort to clean the Seine in the run-up to the Games and used the famous body of water as a venue for long-distance swimming. However, three Germans fell ill after their competition. One wrote: “Vomited 9 times yesterday + diarrhea. The water quality of the Seine is good.”

A classic German aggression. It remains to be seen whether the French will quickly give up the river and allow an occupation.

But back to Vaast: Does his Olympic gold surpass both of Filipe Toledo’s championships?

Disqus.