Tyler Wright’s campaign ends in heartbreak as Mother Nature cruels Aussie’s quarter final
Australian surfer Tyler Wright has lost her quarter final to draw the curtains on her Paris 2024 campaign.
Coming head-to-head with American Caroline Marks, Wright’s total score of 5.37 was no match for the reigning world champion’s 7.77.
Marks executed a tactical session, doing enough under priority before defending brilliantly to deny Wright one last-ditch effort.
Wright assumed first priority but was forced to wait for a strong set.
Unfortunately the line-up — the area where the waves normally begin breaking — then changed leaving the 30-year-old stranded.
With the clock ticking down on the heat’s final 10 minutes, Wright ultimately ran out of time to catch another ride in an attempt to boost her total.
Speaking afterwards, Wright accepted the unpredictability of the ocean.
“She does what she does and she kinda did. She gave me a wave underneath and I almost converted again which is probably the most frustrating thing,” she told Nine.
“It’s really hard to ride the barrel on your back end out there and I did have that one opportunity … She kinda did but then at the end, she threw a rogue set that hadn’t come through and we were never going to be in position for.
“It’s a bit of a bummer, I’m pretty frustrated but that’s OK.”
Scoring 4.00 with a couple of stunning turns, Marks’ first wave was enough to top the heat.
As the horn blasted twice to signal the end of the heat, the pair shared an embrace out on the water.
“Heartbreak for Tyler Wright,” the commentator said on Nine’s coverage.
“She did so many things right throughout the course of this Olympic Games — barely put a foot wrong.
“Then the misfortune of that final set that really came at a different position to everything else we’ve seen.”
Wight’s brother and former professional surfer, Owen, was devastated by how her battle ended.
“My heart is ripped out for her,” he said.
“She put a lot of work into that and you can hear it in my voice, I’m pretty upset for her. But, she did everything right in that heat, she had the priority, waited, waited, waited and then Mother Nature just dished up this monster set that washed out the line-up.
“I’m upset for her, it’s hard to see.”
Earlier, fellow Aussies Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing met in their quarter-final clash.
Robinson’s total score of 15.33 bested Ewing’s of 13.00. He will next face Brazil’s Gabriel Medina in the semi finals on Sunday morning (AEST).
