TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti, French Polynesia (Tuesday, August 15, 2023) - Jack Robinson (AUS) has provisionally qualified through the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) to represent his country at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Following Robinson's performance today at the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, he is guaranteed to end the season as one of the top Australian surfers on the WSL Rankings, earning his provisional qualification for the upcoming Olympic Games. This will be the 25-year-old's first Olympic appearance.
"I was wondering if this was going to come, I'm super happy," said Robinson. "It was up at the start of the year, I had some good results. Then it was hard to find my form through some of those events but I had to stick with it or I wouldn't have gotten any points. I was told I couldn't surf again and I was like, no I'm going to surf and just push through it so I'm really happy I did that."
Robinson was born in Perth, Australia, and began surfing at the early age of three. His instant love of the sport led his family to move to Margaret River, Western Australia, when he was six so that he could pursue his passion. By 11, Robinson was already surfing the famed Pipeline in Hawaii and gained the attention of the global surf community. He made his way onto the WSL competitive circuit, climbing the Qualifying Series ranks. In 2019, Robinson won the Volcom Pipe Pro and the Vans World Cup of Surfing, qualifying him for the WSL CT. In his first season on the elite Tour, Robinson finished top ten in three events and won the 2021 Corona Open Mexico. 2022 saw further success for the Australian, claiming back-to-back event wins at the Margaret River Pro and the Quicksilver Pro G-Land, leading him to secure a spot in the WSL Rip Curl Finals, where he would finish third. Robinson launched the 2023 CT season with full force, winning the esteemed Billabong Pipeline Pro in Hawaii. He followed up the win with consecutive second and third-place finishes but faced setbacks due to an injury mid-season. Robinson has recently regained his footing, finishing fifth at the Corona Open J-Bay with a performance reminiscent of his pre-injury success. He is currently ranked No. X in the world.
Surfing will return to the Olympic Games after making its 2020 Olympic debut in Tokyo. The 2024 Olympics will be held on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti at Teahupo'o, the iconic wave known for massive barrels, heavy drops, and a shallow reef. This will be familiar to the WSL surfers as it is the featured stop on the WSL CT and the next stop on the 2023 CT season.
The WSL CT, the highest level of competitive surfing that crowns the World Champions, is surfing's tier-one qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games. WSL will provisionally qualify the first ten men and eight women for Paris 2024. Learn more about Surfing's Olympic Qualification process.
Watch Robinson compete at the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro from August 11 - 20, 2023. Once called on, the competitions will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL's YouTube Channel, and the free WSL app. Check out more ways to watch from the WSL's broadcast partners here.