Will Filipe Toledo Surf in the Olympics at Teahupo'o?

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce today that I am withdrawing for the remainder of the 2024 Championship Tour season,” Toledo announced. “In the past, I have been honest about some of my challenges not only with injuries, but also with mental health. Competing at the highest level for the past decade has taken a toll on me, and I need a break to recover for the next chapter of my career.”

Nothing about the Olympics.

If he does decide to pull out, presumably, the next Brazilian surfer in the qualification hierarchy (the 2023 CT) would take his spot: Gabriel Medina. Of course, Medina has a much better track record at Chopes. Just last year, he placed second to Jack Robinson.

There's also Joao Chianca, the other Brazilian surfer qualified for the Olympics via the 2023 CT. Back in December, Chianca was hospitalized following a wipeout at Pipeline. Nothing is confirmed, but murmurs have been swirling on whether or not he will compete in the Olympics. If he doesn't, presumably, Yago Dora would get his spot.

Toledo, rather infamously, has struggled with Teahupo’o, the host wave for surfing in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Back in 2015, during the WSL’s Billabong Pro Tahiti, Toledo did not catch a wave. Since then, although Toledo is often considered the best small wave surfer in the world, speculations about his fear in heavier surf have circled.

Even Toledo’s father, Ricardo, confirmed that fear:

“The truth is that he is afraid of hitting the bottom of the coral, that is the fear he has, of hitting himself there and really hurting himself and that suffer irreversible injury. It's something that stays in his head.”

So, the question is, will Toledo pull out from the Olympics, too? Or will he spend his time off Tour in preparation for surfing Teahupo’o, then come the Olympics, shock the world once again with some uncanny heavy water tube-riding skills?

Stay tuned; the Olympics run July 26th-August 11th.