Olympics hit with further disruption as second event of day postponed in Paris

The Paris Olympics surfing competition has been forced to postpone its upcoming heats due to unfavorable weather conditions, marking the second event to be delayed after the men's triathlon was also put on hold.

Originally slated to kick off at 6pm BST (1pm EST), the heats have now been rescheduled for a later date as storms wreak havoc on the Pacific island of Tahiti, the host location for the competition. Erik Kramer, the technical director for the International Surfing Association, confirmed the delay with a brief announcement to competitors on Tuesday.

The surfing venue has been battered by strong winds and heavy rain, resulting in less than ideal surfing conditions. Despite predictions from surf forecasting website Surfline that the surf will be large on Tuesday and Wednesday, the onshore winds could lead to "disorganized and potentially out of control" conditions.

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This has compelled officials to delay the next round of heats, with only four days left in the 10-day window allocated for the competition. A decision regarding the new schedule for the heats is anticipated to be announced late in the afternoon on Tahiti.

Surfing enthusiasts were left with little to cheer about on Sunday as competitors faced uninspiring conditions, with the men's event now whittled down to the quarter-finals. The competition is heating up as it shifts into a knockout format, where each heat pits two surfers against one another, and only the victor progresses.

Peru's Alfonso Correa is gearing up for a clash with Japan's Reo Inaba, while French surfers Kauli Vaast and Joan Duru are set to duke it out for a coveted spot in the semi-finals. The remaining quarter-final matchups feature Brazil's Gabriel Medina squaring off against Joao Chianca, and Australians Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing completing the lineup of the last eight.

Jack Robinson has opened up about his harrowing experience during his victory over world number one John Florence in the previous round, where he narrowly escaped drowning. The Australian surfer recounted multiple wipe-outs that necessitated rescue by jet-ski.

Robinson shared his ordeal, saying, "I got dragged over the bottom and almost had a two wave hold under," and added, "I didn't get much air. There wasn't much time. I got reminded of so many guys who have had so many bad wipe-outs here

"I have had some pretty bad (wipe-outs) but in a contest it's different. You have way more adrenaline and there is way more on the line. Every other sport is in a court or a stadium. We are in an ocean. It is the biggest, most powerful source of life we have on this planet.

"'The waves are so powerful. It doesn't relate to any other sport. Maybe an avalanche coming down on your head on a mountain. Maybe it's similar to that. It's so dangerous and so crazy."