Jack Robinson’s boards before and after South Korean officials requested he remove an Andy Irons-inspired design. Photos: Jack Robinson // Instagram
Jack Robinson is heading into Olympic surfing semi-finals against Gabriel Medina, but on a slightly different board than he started off with. At the start of the games, the Australian surfer had a quiver of surfboards sporting a paint job paying tribute to surfing icon Andy Irons, but the artwork has since been painted over after another team took issue with the design.
The design in question was a red rising sun, a logo closely associated with tragically deceased three-time world champion Andy Irons. Before the competition began, Robinson made a (since deleted) post to his Instagram, showing off the red and white quiver, with the caption “2 days to go. Boards inspired by AI.”
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However, while surfers associate the image with Irons, the logo has a very different meaning for many people in East Asia. During the 19th century, the rising sun symbol became the flag of the Japanese military and was flown by the Japanese navy during World War Two. As a result, for many of the citizens of countries previously occupied by Japanese forces, the design is considered offensive.
After seeing Robinson’s post, South Korean officials reached out to the Australian delegation to request the design’s removal. The Australian team honored the South Koreans’ request and Robinson’s boards were painted over in solid red.
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“I saw his post, thinking that board can’t be used because Olympics is a pure sports event,” Song Min, South Korea’s surfing team manager, explained to Reuters. Song added that he understood the link to Andy Irons, but, “even if this design is chosen out of personal views, it can be embarrassing”.
“This isn’t about South Korea protesting but this is what invokes some people’s scars so it should be banned for use despite freedom of expression.”
