TEAHUPO, TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA – AUGUST 18: Kanoa Igarashi of Japan surfs during heat 7 of the round of 16 at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro in Teahupo, Tahiti, French Polynesia on August 18, 2022. (Photo by Beatrice Ryder/World Surf League)
If you ask me, Kanoa Igarashi and Teahupo are a puzzling duo. Many surfers have a story attached to a particular wave. Maybe it's their style, their competitive record, or just obvious strengths or weaknesses that make them the clear favorite or underdog when matched with the location. Gabriel Medina has been in the semi-finals at Teahupo almost every year for the last decade. Filipe Toledo can't seem to make it out of heats at places like Chopes or Pipe (although technically he did once…), while Kelly Slater can't make it out of heats. Unless A big wave is coming.
But while End of the Road has produced some of the biggest highlights and worst results of Igarashi's CT career, it's hard to imagine him missing out on a spot at Teahupoo this summer.
In 2022, Igarashi waited for the wave of the day in a heat with Judson Andre. He blasted into the top five of the rankings with a clutch score of 9.70 at the Tahiti Pro, officially knocking Griffin Colapinto out of the race. It was a dramatic and exciting moment brought about by the existence of the WSL Finals format that many fans have hated since its introduction. The match was also Igarashi's best result at Te Ahupo since joining the CT. In that match, he was eliminated in the next round by Miguel Pupo. In 2023, Igarashi left Te Ahupo after the elimination round. In May, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist was eliminated in the round of 16 in Tahiti without completing a wave. A heat total of 0.93 was a surprisingly low score for a man who once felt he had a sixth sense for finding exactly what he needed to keep his priorities in order and move forward.
With all this in mind, Igarashi’s latest work is Eye of the storm His time in Tahiti was captured on camera, and it's hard to argue with his track record at Te Aupo. It wasn't a stellar performance, but in 2022 he pulled off a miracle and punched his way to the finals.
