Joao “Chumbinho” Chianca suffered a wipeout at Pipeline on the North Shore and was rendered unconscious. The incident took place on the morning of Sunday, December 3rd. Though more specific details of how Chianca was injured were unclear, there were reports that he was underwater for nearly five minutes when his body was located and rescue attempts began.
“Brazilian surfer Joao “Chumbinho” Chianca was just pulled out of the water at Pipeline by the North Shore Lifeguards after suffering a concussion and is being transported to the hospital,” wrote Shannon Marie Quirk in the description for a video of the rescue posted to her YouTube channel. Chianca was then taken to Queens Hospital in critical condition, where he later stabilized. His condition since then has not been updated.
The incident comes after a banner season for Chumbinho. The Sasquarema native and younger brother to Lucas ‘Chumbo’ Chianca advanced to the Final Five of the 2023 Championship Tour and secured a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics to represent Brazil. The swift rise of Chumbinho’s star in recent years has led some to claim he is arguably the best surfer on the tour right now.
