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Making it out of a gargantuan Teahupo’o barrel unscathed is one of the most challenging feats in surfing. But now try to do it while hopping over a discarded board in the tube. It sounds impossible, but that’s exactly the magic trick that Matahi Drollet pulled off this week.
On a big, unruly day at Teahupo’o where several people were towing among paddle surfers, the local Drollet was whipped into a big set wave. Meanwhile on the inside, the French Olympian Joan Duru, who was paddle surfing in preparation of Paris 2024, was forced to ditch his board to swim under the wave. The board was left in a precarious position, blocking the line that Drollet was drawing in the tube. But miraculously, Drollet had the awareness to adjust his line and ollie over the loose board while inside the barrel, coming out with the spit.
On Instagram, Drollet nonchalantly stated that it was a “sketchy wave from this morning” and that he was “stoked to make it over this board in the west bowl.”
At the same time, Duru profusely apologized in the comment sections of the video as it sprung up around the internet.
In Drollet’s post, Duru said, “Sorry bro, luckily you’re a machine.”
On another angle of the wave from photographer Tim McKenna, Duru reiterated, “Sorry for putting you in such a dangerous situation! Luckily you are a machine and jumped over the board.”
These two are lucky that no one got hurt. As incredible of a wave as it was for Drollet, not many surfers in the know want to see this repeated anytime soon.
