Koa Rothman’s had a pretty wild week. He was nowhere near Hawaii when he got word he’d be competing in the Jaws Challenge as a wildcard. In fact, he was on the complete opposite side of the mainland visiting family in Georgia for the Thanksgiving holiday. So throwing that extra cross-country flight into the mix leading up to his first heat probably only upped the nerves for what turned out to be an intense few days.
Next, he spent his Monday morning on the cliff at Jaws watching everybody take a beating in their heats, knowing the same swell was probably going to peak during his own first heat. Then he couldn’t find wax…because it’s always the simplest things that throw a wrench in your routine at a moment like this. Ok, well once it was go time and he was in the water nothing else mattered, right?
Wrong.
Koa made it all the way down the cliff and into the lineup on Monday only to find out the contest was being put on hold. So he had to endure another sleepless night before he could finally get a wave in what turned out to be a historic contest. And Rothman had an impressive showing, making it all the way to the Final heat. All in all, a great success.
“Yeah, you just go. You gotta send it.”
