When you think of surfing, you usually picture a beautiful location with people riding the waves in a laid back, stress-free atmosphere.
But these are not normal conditions on the water. The Olympic surfing competition will take place in beautiful Tea Aupō, Tahiti, far from the Seine and the picturesque surroundings of Paris, where the world's best athletes will compete fiercely for one of the sport's most coveted prizes.
And sometimes surfing can prove to be a rough or even dangerous sport.
Joanne Defay of France was surfing on the first day of competition on Saturday when she fell off her board on the first wave, crashed into a rough reef and suffered a cut to her head.
Defay required four stitches, but returned with her helmet on and weathered the rest of the day to reach the round of 16 on day two, where she defeated Molly Pickram of Australia to knock out all French surfers.
“I fell on the first wave yesterday, it was so big I hit my head right into the coral and got four stitches,” Defay said after reaching the round of 16.
“They sent me for a concussion test, which came out so-so, so they sent me for another test this morning… There's no trauma, so I'm happy.”
So the next time you watch surfing, remember that behind the artistry and athleticism on the water, it may also be a contact sport.
