Baby on board! And still getting vertical. Photo: Jersson Barboza//ISA
As a surfer, Justine Dupont can do it all. She’s competed on the WSL Championship Tour as a shortboarder. She’s won awards for her big wave surfing. She’s earned medals in ISA longboard and SUP championships. She’s the quintessential waterwoman. Now she’s added another accomplishment to her long list of accolades: A month ago she earned a medal at the ISA SUP World Championship in France. That’s no surprise. The impressive part is that she was five-and-a-half months pregnant. Among 27 of the world’s best female SUP surfers, she made it to the final and finished fourth.
Due to give birth to a son in January, Dupont had to adapt her surfing and equipment according to her pregnancy. She, once again, proved she is one of the most multidimensional surfers in the world. So, how did she pull it off? And what type of unique challenges did the pregnancy present while competing? I spoke with Justine to find out.
Did you ever question your ability to participate in the event?
I felt it was possible to compete ever since the French team asked if I was interested in participating. Since it’s SUP, I am not lying on the board most of the time. I’m standing. It doesn’t push on the belly. The contest was also in a place in France that doesn’t get super powerful waves (Les Sables d’Olonne), so I figured it was fine. I was five-and-a-half months pregnant and I knew six months was the limit.
For the qualification event, I was five-months pregnant. I could tell my body was starting to change a bit – the balance, the weight. Then at five and a half months, every day became a surprise, always changing. This was weird when I was competing. I could feel the belly when I was lying on the board.
Was the French team hesitant to let you compete?
When the team manager, Serge, first called, I told him I wanted to do the contest. Then when I finished the phone call I realized I needed to tell him (about the pregnancy). I was nervous, but right away he was totally fine with it. Since the qualification event was 10 days before the championship, he knew that if I qualified I would be okay to surf.
Were you expecting to do well in the event?
Yeah I was. The last event I did before that one I won. And the one before that I got second. Plus the two world championships before this one I finished second and first. So, yes, I was going for the finals, for a medal. But as soon as the contest started, I felt like my body was changing a lot. My priority was the baby, but since I already committed to the French team, I really wanted to do well.
Mom and son’s first comp together. Photo: Jersson Barboza//ISA
Did the pregnancy affect your performance?
It for sure affected my performance. The focus and concentration was way harder. My whole body was focused on one thing that is more important than anything, the growth of the baby. My mind was on that mission, but the other mission, the competition, was tough mentally.
I did make a big mental mistake by committing an interference in the last seconds of a heat on the last day. Because of that, I had to go through way more heats that used up a lot of energy. If I didn’t make that mistake I felt that I could have done better. Of course, it’s easy to speak about it afterwards, but I am sure I’ll learn from that mistake in the future.
Physically it was different as well. I had to get a bigger board, which was harder to maneuver. I had to push more, but my body was slower. I weighed six kilograms more (13 pounds), so it wasn’t the same. My abs weren’t working as they used to work. The muscles were way different, more loose, not as reactive. But I am a surfer and I know how to adapt to different boards and waves, so I stuck to this experience about adapting.
But I was confident with my surfing. I wasn’t doubting whether I should do a risky turn. I wasn’t thinking that. I was focused on doing medium to good turns, but I was pushing inside because I felt like my energy wanted to be calm, no stress, and the contest was the opposite. You need to fight and there is lots of noise. It was super interesting to experience that. I knew I could add to the French team as a good surfer, but I knew that I would not be the surfer that I am normally.
Did the other competitors know you were pregnant?
I think everybody knew because you could see it in my belly. I didn’t think it would be that big at that time, but I couldn’t hide it with a wetsuit.
Was this medal any more special than the many other awards you’ve won in your career?
Every medal is different. It’s not about the medal, but the story behind the medal – the mental aspect or timing that you win the medal. This one was different because I was living with a baby inside me. I was talking to him a lot, explaining how we were already experiencing something together. Maybe the next medal I will be able to show him from the outside. I will tell him he won a medal in a surfing championship. A daughter of a friend of mine painted a medal for the baby, so he already has a little medal.
What are your plans with becoming a mom? Any thoughts on when you might get back in the water?
He will be born in January, so let’s see how it goes. I will adapt to that, but for sure I want to go back to the water as soon as I can, as soon as it’s healthy for the baby and for me.
