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Three years ago, when it was announced that surfing would debut as an Olympic sport in the 2020 Tokyo Games, John John Florence was a name that immediately leapt to mind.
He was just 23 and in the dominating midst of the first of back-to-back World Surfing League championship years, a seeming gold medalist in the making, one well-timed to celebrate Hawaii’s sporting gift to the world on its biggest stage.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity of representing our country if I’m fortunate enough to make the U.S. team,” Florence said humbly at the time.
But that 24-karat vision now totters on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the result of an injury suffered while competing last week in the Oi Rio Pro in Brazil.
In confirming the injury in an Instagram post, Florence wrote, “I’ll be pulling out of J-Bay and likely the rest of the (Championship Tour) season. I’m opting for surgery so I can be 100% next year …”
A prominent local sports medicine specialist who is not involved in the case said a ballpark figure for reconstructive surgery is six to 12 months, but the standard is usually nine to 12 months for a return to full activity.
There is still a potential window, however slight, for Florence to compete in the Olympics next July, depending on how the competition shakes out while he is on the mend from a second ACL injury in 13 months.
What happens without him in the water is important because the top 10 men and top eight women in the WSL’s final 2019 rankings in late December can earn automatic berths in the Olympics, up to a maximum of two from each gender per country. Remaining spots will be filled by performances in the International Surfing Association World Games in Japan and the Pan American Games in Peru, both beginning later this month.
Florence is ranked No. 1 in the WSL rankings and had appeared on pace for a third world crown, having won two of the four events he competed in prior to the injury in Brazil.
As it stands now, Florence would have to hope that while he recovers his accumulated 32,160 points — 14,425 more than any American other than No. 2-ranked Kolohe Andino of California — are enough to keep him in the top 10 while also holding off other U.S. surfers. If so, that would assure him a spot in the lineup at Tsurigasaki Beach, an hour and a half from central Tokyo, next summer.
The biggest looming threat comes from 11-time world champion Kelly Slater of Florida, who is ranked No. 7 and could become one of the oldest Olympians at age 48. The other Americans in striking distance are Connor Coffin of California (11) and Hawaii’s Seth Moniz (12).
On the women’s side, it is more crowded after second-ranked Carissa Moore of Hawaii, with fourth-ranked Courtney Conlogue and fifth-ranked Lakey Peterson of California and Carolina Marks of Florida. Hawaii’s Malia Manuel is eighth and Coco Ho 10th with five events remaining. Tatiana Weston-Webb of Kauai, but competing for Brazil, is seventh.
The men’s tour winds up in Florence’s North Shore backyard with the Billabong Pipe Masters, Dec. 8-20, while the women’s tour concludes at Honolua Bay on Maui with the Hawaii Pro, Nov. 25-Dec. 6.
Meaning a lot could be riding on what happens in the home surf come year’s end.
U.S. SURFERS IN WSL RANKINGS
MEN
POS. / SURFER / STATE
1 John John Florence Hawaii
2 Kolohe Andino California
7 Kelly Slater Florida
11 Conner Coffin California
12 Seth Moniz Hawaii
WOMEN
POS. / SURFER / STATE
2 Carissa Moore Hawaii
4 Courtney Conlogue California
T5 Lakey Peterson California
T5 Caroline Marks Florida
8 Malia Manuel Hawaii
10 Coco Ho Hawaii
Source: World Surf League
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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