Right now, if you're a Championship Tour surfer, you've either got an extended break until the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quiksilver, or you're putting the finishing touches on your preparation to become an Olympic athlete in Tokyo in under a month.
And this week, we got a few more pieces of one of the biggest puzzles heading into the Games -- the make-up of the Men's USA team.
JJF Provides More Details On His Injury
Right now, one of the biggest questions is whether or not John John Florence will surf in Tokyo. If he doesn't, it will mean his spot goes to 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater, who you can only imagine wants it badly.
Florence agrees with this sentiment. In an interview with The Inertia, he revealed he'd been surfing every day, gradually applying more pressure to his turns after injuring his left knee in Margaret River a few months ago.
And on the question of whether Slater is hoping he'll have to pull out?
"He probably wants it really bad," John John told Joe Carberry. "I can only imagine. Kelly is a competitor, he's probably doing the best he can to be ready. I'm doing the best I can. I'm pretty motivated. I didn't put all that work in to not get there this time around. I'm putting every second of every day into this knee."
Andino Back Surfing As Well
Now for the other big piece of the Men's USA puzzle: Kolohe Andino is also back in the water, after surgery to his injured ankle. We revealed last week he'd taken part in a Team USA expression session at Lower Trestles.
Well now, here's some Andino footage so you can see for yourself just how ready he is to go for Gold in Tokyo.
Recovering from ankle surgery and hoping to be ready in time for the upcoming Olympics, Andino shared his progress with the crowd at the recent USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles.
Defay Is Ready To Go
Johanne Defay will be going into the Games with a lot of confidence, given she won the most recent Championship Tour event, the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro presented by Adobe.
This week she released an edit which really showcases the fact that she has one of the best backhand attacks on the Championship Tour. We can't wait to see what she's going to do in Tokyo.
Ferreira Also Training Hard To Represent Brazil
If you've seen the way Italo Ferreira competes at Championship Tour events, can you imagine what he's going to do when he's trying to take Gold for Brazil?
Well, he's been training hard, posting some updates to his Instagram account this week. Brazil is arguably the favorite going into the event, with a frankly imposing combination of Ferreira and Gabriel Medina.
WIlson Provides Candid Details On His Olympic Motivation
This week Team Australia member Julian Wilson provided some details on his own Olympic motivation in an interview with the WSL.
Wilson sat out the recent Surf Ranch event to focus on his Olympic prep, and he went deep on how important it is to do his country proud at the games, the pressures of balancing travel on the Championship Tour and family life, and many other things.
"I've felt a lot of concern around the commitment to the time away from my family chasing the dream of a world title which has been a primary focus of mine for a long time now. But obviously, there's a bigger priority of factors now as my career gets further along," Wilson told Alex Workman.
Check out the full interview here.
Julian Wilson has devoted himself to doing well at the Olympic Games - WSL / Matt Dunbar
Some Enjoyable Viewing From Hawaii
And finally, while we may be a ways off getting back into Hawaii-mode, its waves are something most surf fans will never get sick of looking at.
Team Billabong and Ethan Ewing, Griffin Colapinto, and Seth Moniz released this edit from their most recent season in Hawaii and it's well worth a watch.
Week In Waves: Preparations For Surfing's Olympic Debut Heat Up
Ben Collins
Right now, if you're a Championship Tour surfer, you've either got an extended break until the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quiksilver, or you're putting the finishing touches on your preparation to become an Olympic athlete in Tokyo in under a month.
And this week, we got a few more pieces of one of the biggest puzzles heading into the Games -- the make-up of the Men's USA team.
JJF Provides More Details On His Injury
Right now, one of the biggest questions is whether or not John John Florence will surf in Tokyo. If he doesn't, it will mean his spot goes to 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater, who you can only imagine wants it badly.
Florence agrees with this sentiment. In an interview with The Inertia, he revealed he'd been surfing every day, gradually applying more pressure to his turns after injuring his left knee in Margaret River a few months ago.
And on the question of whether Slater is hoping he'll have to pull out?
"He probably wants it really bad," John John told Joe Carberry. "I can only imagine. Kelly is a competitor, he's probably doing the best he can to be ready. I'm doing the best I can. I'm pretty motivated. I didn't put all that work in to not get there this time around. I'm putting every second of every day into this knee."
Andino Back Surfing As Well
Now for the other big piece of the Men's USA puzzle: Kolohe Andino is also back in the water, after surgery to his injured ankle. We revealed last week he'd taken part in a Team USA expression session at Lower Trestles.
Well now, here's some Andino footage so you can see for yourself just how ready he is to go for Gold in Tokyo.
Defay Is Ready To Go
Johanne Defay will be going into the Games with a lot of confidence, given she won the most recent Championship Tour event, the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro presented by Adobe.
This week she released an edit which really showcases the fact that she has one of the best backhand attacks on the Championship Tour. We can't wait to see what she's going to do in Tokyo.
Ferreira Also Training Hard To Represent Brazil
If you've seen the way Italo Ferreira competes at Championship Tour events, can you imagine what he's going to do when he's trying to take Gold for Brazil?
Well, he's been training hard, posting some updates to his Instagram account this week. Brazil is arguably the favorite going into the event, with a frankly imposing combination of Ferreira and Gabriel Medina.
WIlson Provides Candid Details On His Olympic Motivation
This week Team Australia member Julian Wilson provided some details on his own Olympic motivation in an interview with the WSL.
Wilson sat out the recent Surf Ranch event to focus on his Olympic prep, and he went deep on how important it is to do his country proud at the games, the pressures of balancing travel on the Championship Tour and family life, and many other things.
"I've felt a lot of concern around the commitment to the time away from my family chasing the dream of a world title which has been a primary focus of mine for a long time now. But obviously, there's a bigger priority of factors now as my career gets further along," Wilson told Alex Workman.
Check out the full interview here.
Some Enjoyable Viewing From Hawaii
And finally, while we may be a ways off getting back into Hawaii-mode, its waves are something most surf fans will never get sick of looking at.
Team Billabong and Ethan Ewing, Griffin Colapinto, and Seth Moniz released this edit from their most recent season in Hawaii and it's well worth a watch.
Italo Ferreira
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