John John withdraws from Oi Rio Pro

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

On Saturday, John John pulled out of his Round of 16 heat at Barrinha against Wade Carmichael. With ten minutes to go, and leading by more than six points, John John lined up an air section in the stiff easterly but hit the ramp awkwardly. He paddled in leaving Carmichael alone in the lineup as the clock counted down. The Avoca surfer couldn't find the score and was bundled from the comp.

Despite the win, the news from Florence's camp was concerning. “I had a ton of speed on my last wave and I was going to do a turn and it was kind of breaking already and so I just tried to do a fly away, but the wave broke on my back leg and buckled the same knee I injured last year,” said Florence explaining how it happened.

“It just got tweaked and I was in a little bit of pain. In my head I just felt like I should leave the water and go rest it and try to make sure it’s all good. I’m going to get it looked at and see how it feels tomorrow.”

Last night, John John pulled out of the contest altogether. His manager Brandon Wasserman telling the WSL that John "doesn't feel confident to surf." He withdrew from the contest giving Jordy Smith his second walk through of the year (at Margaret River he progressed when Leo Fioravanti dislocated his shoulder at the Box).

John was well-positioned to further his lead on the rankings, but fortunately for him second placed Kolohe Andino only made it through one more heat chipping just 1,340 points off John's lead -  which is now 32,160 to Kolohe's 27,760 (unadjusted).

Gabriel Medina had already fallen out of the contest, losing to Kolohe Andino in the heat after John hurt himself.

The next contest is J'Bay which starts on July 9th.

Check the current CT ratings here.

Comments

wildenstein8's picture
wildenstein8's picture
wildenstein8 Monday, 24 Jun 2019 at 9:00am

John's more than 15,000 pts ahead of Gabriel and the next two comps are Jefferys and Teahupoo, so he doesnt have to do an air till the Surf Ranch comp in three months time. It's a good decision I'd say.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 24 Jun 2019 at 9:07am

JJF def out for Jbay...knee is not good

kookfactor's picture
kookfactor's picture
kookfactor Monday, 24 Jun 2019 at 9:31am

All Jordy's African bush chants and witch doctor voodoo knocking out guys before he meets them.