‘Losses have made me hungrier’: the New Zealand surfer chasing Olympic gold at Teahupo’o

After setbacks and the death of her beloved father, Saffi Vette says she is ready to take on the famous break in Tahiti

Saffi Vette’s favourite surfing memory takes place at a small break named after her great aunt – Dorrie’s Rock – which juts out into the sea, near her Gisborne home on the wild east cape of New Zealand’s North Island.

In the memory, Vette’s father, Andy, launches the then seven-year-old and her younger brother Finn – propped up on surfboards –onto the waves curling towards the beach, as her mum, Vanessa, surfs nearby. Her father jumps into the surf and films the children gliding through the water.

Continue reading...