Surfing’s Olympic Moment Is Here. Will the Waves Cooperate?

A sport’s debut offers big names but unspectacular waves. For a few top contenders, those could be perfect conditions for a medal.

ICHINOMIYA, Japan — Kolohe Andino, 27, has never had to go far to find good waves, the kind that draw people from far away. Born and raised in San Clemente, Calif., the son of a professional surfer from the 1980s and early ’90s, Andino has always been a short amble away from the steady break at T Street and the sporadic pumpers at Upper and Lower Trestles. Now that he has arrived at the Olympics in Japan, part of the four-person United States team, all those years in his hometown might just lead to his career’s biggest victory. The debut of surfing at the Tokyo Games promises big-name talent but unspectacular waves — just the kind that Andino has surfed all his life.