TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (AP) — Cracked helmets, sutured skin and checks for concussions have been all been part of the Paris Olympics surfing competition, as surfers go head-to-head on the treacherous waves of Teahupo'o, Tahiti on their quest for gold.
While the competition has had big waves and wipe outs, surfers said it's thanks to the water safety patrol— a team of highly-skilled, local workers patrolling with jet skis, helping to operate boats and constantly assessing oceans conditions from a watch tower— that they've been able to enter the heavy, barrel-shaped waves with more confidence that they'll emerge unscathed.
The waves of Teahupo'o can be deadly, having claimed the life of at least one surfer. A jagged coral reef lies just below the ocean surface, often extremely close to where the waves break and within eyesight of surfers.
“It’s super dangerous. People don’t realize it’s the most dangerous place in the world ... so I’m just really happy to be in one piece,” surfer Jack Robinson from Australia said after his round three win. “It’s crazy. There are some huge waves out there.”
While there have been no severe injuries so far during the Paris Olympics surfing events, several athletes have gotten stitches, bloody scrapes or large bruises from their heats.
And there's been many times in the competition when surfers are pulled out of the water or off the reef by water safety patrollers on jet skis.
“They’re like guardian angels,” said local French Polynesian surfer Michel Bourez, who has surfed Teahupo’o for years and previously competed in the Tokyo Olympics. “They actually put their life on the line as well to come and rescue you.”
The jet ski patrols are just a small part of the water safety crews duties, according to safety officials.
Every day starts with a staff briefing on the day’s ocean conditions. As the competition gets underway, the water crew is in constant contact with a water patroller on the tower, which is positioned out in the ocean by the wave.
Workers are constantly watching the ocean's conditions, whether it’s the wind changing direction, shifts in underwater channels or how the tide is impacting the waves, said Puatea Ellis, 42, a water safety worker at the Paris Olympics in Tahiti.
“I constantly need to keep my focus on people, because if people get scared, they panic. And then it's more likely an accident is going to happen." Ellis told The Associated Press.
The help of water safety patrol can also be strategic for winning heats, as it's not uncommon for powerful waves to wash surfers far away from where waves can be caught during their limited heat times, said International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguirre.
“If you need to paddle back out, it will take you 15 minutes,” said International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguirre. “Then you'll find yourself out of time and out of the competition.”
The water safety patrol has also helped others in the water— like camera operators providing a broadcast of the competition— stay safe as well, even helping them search for equipment lost in the rough waves.
“Water safety isn't just for the surfers,” said Ellis. “It's my job to keep everyone safe.”
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Members of the water safety team look on from a jet ski as the sun rises on a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A water safety team member stands on the reef holding the broken front end of a surfboard for Jack Robinson, of Australia, during a training day ahead the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Members of the water safety team move into the impact zone on a jet ski to rescue a surfer under a rainbow during a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 20, 2024--
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, today announced the acquisition by its Chinese subsidiary of certain assets and technologies of BiXin Energy Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (BSE), a manufacturer of chillers, heat pumps, heat-recovery solutions and air-handling units. Focused on expanding the Vertiv chiller family, the acquisition strengthens Vertiv’s portfolio of critical technologies and solutions in support of high-performance compute and AI applications globally. Founded in 2010, BSE brings to Vertiv an established and field-proven presence in the China market and other Asian regions, along with industry patents, advanced technology solutions and strong research and development capabilities that will reinforce Vertiv’s global offering.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219522857/en/
BSE’s core product offerings include oil-free, magnetic-bearing centrifugal water-cooled and air-cooled chillers incorporating pumped-refrigerant-economization technology, with cooling capacities of up to 5.5 MW. BSE is a leader in the Asia region on centrifugal technology, which is designed to provide high efficiency, low maintenance, quiet operation and high reliability.
“This acquisition supports our capital allocation strategy, which includes adding technologies that are early in the maturity curve to our portfolio,” said Giordano Albertazzi, Chief Executive Officer, Vertiv. “BSE’s solutions and technologies complement and reinforce Vertiv’s existing chiller portfolio and will assist us in addressing growing air and liquid cooling demand to support high-performance compute and AI. Vertiv has the most complete critical digital infrastructure portfolio and BSE further strengthens our technology offerings that we can provide to customers globally.”
Since early 2024, Vertiv has partnered with BSE to manufacture Vertiv-branded products for existing customers in China and throughout Asia. BSE is an Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) certified test facility, a China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry Association (CRAA) member and a China High and New-Technology Enterprise. Its products carry the AHRI-certified and CRAA-certified product labels. The combination of engineering, test and technology expertise in centrifugal chillers is complementary to Vertiv’s global chiller product portfolio.
“We’ve enjoyed an outstanding partnership with Vertiv and look forward to becoming a part of the company,” said York Zha, BSE’s CEO. “We’re excited to combine our portfolio with Vertiv’s to deliver a highly efficient and reliable offering of chiller and heat-recovery and reuse solutions for data center customers globally.”
About Vertiv
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content from Vertiv, visit Vertiv.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27 of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. These statements are only a prediction. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements set forth herein. Readers are referred to Vertiv’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of these and other important risk factors concerning Vertiv and its operations. Vertiv is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Vertiv™ air-cooled chiller unit (Photo: Business Wire)
