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John John Florence, coming off a third-round loss in Olympic competition earlier this week, announced his withdrawal from the next two events of the World Surf League Tour, according to a post on Instagram. This comes two months after Florence underwent knee surgery to keep his spot on Team USA.
Florence will miss a pair of contests that are certainly suited to his surfing strengths, but hinted that the physicality of those two waves, Barra de la Cruz and Teahupo’o, created a risk he wasn’t willing to take given his longterm health.
“This was a really hard decision to make, but I’m not 100 percent healed from my knee surgery and I’m trying to do the right thing for my future health and goals,” read Florence’s Instagram post.
Earlier this week, Florence spoke with The Inertia‘s Joe Carberry about the state of his knee and his decision to compete in Tokyo. While “the opportunity to surf in Tokyo was once in a lifetime” and worth the risk, “waves like Mexico and Tahiti are very powerful. With a healthy knee it’s risky so even if my knee is at 90 percent it’s a little more risk.”
From the surf fan’s point of view, Florence’s surfing in Tokyo seemed more conservative than usual. He noted that his knee felt fine through the entire event on Tsurigasaki Beach.
“Looking at the rest of the year and talking with my medical team, the best step forward is continuing with physical therapy for the next 60 days,” Florence wrote. “I want to make sure there is nothing that keeps me from competing, and surfing the way I want to in the long term.”
With Mexico and Tahiti out along with the WSL Championships at Lowers later in the year, John John expressed excitement for the opportunity to come back to competition on his home turf for the Billabong Pipe Masters.
