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He Is Olympic Surfing’s Wave Whisperer

ICHINOMIYA, Japan — Surfing is the only event at the Summer Olympics without a precise, predetermined schedule. It might happen today, but maybe not.

Consider another sport, like swimming, where the women’s 200-meter breaststroke final is scheduled for 10:41 a.m. on July 30. Or gymnastics, where the men’s pommel horse final will start at 6:44 p.m. on Aug. 1.

Surfing? Whatever. At the Olympics, all that had been decided in advance was that four days’ worth of surfing would fall within an eight-day window at Tsurigasaki Beach, 60 miles east of Tokyo.

The rest remains largely up to Kurt Korte.