Watch As a Whale Steals the Show, Breaching During Olympic Surfing Competition

The Olympic games are a time when the best athletes in the world come together to strut their stuff and compete for the gold. As such, there are always a few surprises and meme-worthy moments that become part of our collective cultural consciousness. The 2024 Paris Olympics have been no exception to this rule, and have featured some fun and spectacular sights like the Turkish sharpshooter with a curious stance and the surfer who appears to be able to float in the air .

But as of Aug. 5, 2024, a new contender entered the chat, and they did so by way of making a big splash during the women's surfing semi-finals. No, it wasn't a surfer or even one of the spectators, but instead a curious gray whale who couldn't help but join in on the fun. Continue reading to learn more about the whale who breached during the Olympic games.

A gray whale breached during the woman's surfing semi-finals.

Viewers were treated to quite the show during the contest, which took place in Teahupo'o, located off the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti. The women were in the water when the whale breached — the term used when whales propel themselves out of the water, breaching the surface before coming back down — and in some photos it looks like they were only yards away from the impressive show.

All eyes were on Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy and Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil just before it happened, as the duo were patiently waiting for some good waves to appear. The on-air commentators immediately shifted their focus from the athletes to the whale, according to NPR , who notes that one commentator said "wow" before another gave the whale "a 10," which is a nod to the ranking issued by the judges.

Gray whales are common in Tahiti this time of year.

While the sudden appearance of the whale was a shocking one, it's not actually all that uncommon to see these massive creatures in and out of the water between the months of July and November. In fact, this time of year is popular for whale watching, and curious onlookers often gather in hopes of seeing all kinds of migrating whales.

Whales were granted legal personhood by tribal leaders.

People may even be seeing more of them than normal thanks to a new designation for Tahiti's Indigenous leaders, who signed a treaty granting whales personhood in 2024, according to NPR . Tahitian tribes teamed up with those from other island nations to pressure various governments to increase protections for the creatures, especially when it comes to major threats like hunting, noise pollution, and climate change.

Hopefully this push to protect the beloved sea creatures will allow for more surprising sightings like the one that took place during the Olympics. Because no matter how anyone feels about Team USA taking home the gold in the final leg of the surfing contest, it's clear that getting to see that once-in-a-lifetime Olympic breach is something we can all celebrate!