Whether you loved or hated the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the action has well and truly kicked off now, and some of it is taking place a long way from metropolitan France. The world’s top surfers are half a world away, in French Polynesia. Why? Off the coast of Tahiti is a wave unlike any other on the planet: Teahupo'o, which translates somewhat ominously as “place of skulls”.
Check out this fascinating anatomy of the epic wave and all our other great coverage of the events, history and politics of the games.
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Brian Bielmann/Getty Images
Tom Shand, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
There are some great surfers vying for gold in Tahiti, but arguably the star of the show is the famous Teahupo'o wave itself. Here’s what makes it special, and why surfers respect its power.
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Canada’s Evelyne Viens (left) scores a goal during the women’s Group A soccer match between Canada and New Zealand at Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, July 25, 2024, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Saint-Etienne, France.
(AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Lianne Foti, University of Guelph; Kathleen Rodenburg, University of Guelph
This incident potentially impacts the nation’s international reputation and trust in Canadian athletes and raises questions about Canada’s commitment to ethical standards in sports.
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EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Sarah Austin, The University of Melbourne
For the first time in Olympic Games history, the ceremony took place outside a stadium arena.
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
The former president has a narrow lead over the current vice president, but Harris’ numbers are on the rise.
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Brian J. Phillips, University of Essex
Alleged Sinaloa cartel leader duped into flying to the US, where arrest awaited him.
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Isaac Kamola, Trinity College
From educational gag orders to the decline of tenure-track positions, academic freedom in the United States has been worsening in recent years.
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Manal Mohammed, University of Westminster
At least 38 people have died since the start of June from this virus spread by sandflies.
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Abi Stone, University of Manchester; Dominic Stratford, University of the Witwatersrand
New research provides the foundation for larger, regional-scale analyses of early human adaptive strategies in the Namib Sand Sea, Namibia.
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Sean McMahon, The University of Edinburgh
The find has excited scientists, but other explanations are possible.
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Vigneshwaran Krishnamurthy, McGill University; Hiroyuki Tako Ishikawa, Western University
The groundbreaking discovery of a temperate Earth-size planet just 40 light-years away may hold the key to understanding stellar habitability.
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Deborah Lewer, University of Glasgow
Improv performance artists are finding resonance in the fears, ideals and artistic expression evoked by the chaos of war in the early 20th century.
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