Lucky boy (pending a full recovery). He looks to have still been attached to his board by the leggy, otherwise they may not have found him in time. Footage shows they had to pull him up from under the water.

That is nuts, pipe claims another. Just finished Owens book, hopefully no life-altering consequences for Joao.

Heavy.

Let's hope he makes a full recovery by the time the season starts.

It's taken a heavy injury toll on competitors over the last couple of seasons.

Far out. Great effort getting him in.
Have been occasionally checking the cam there this morning and there's some absolute heavers going through..many unridden.
Such a heavy wave.

Still the most dangerous wave in the world.

You watch the footage and wonder what he could've done differently? I mean he is elite out there, anywhere. Such an unpredictable / dangerous spot.

how good is the collective lifesaving effort.

So heavy. Full praise to the lifeguards, and all the best to Joao.

Yep, he definitely would have water on the lungs after that episode, not a well boy.

Crikey what a dangerous situation - hope he comes out unscathed! Great work to the crew who saw his board and got to him first.

If you look at the first vid you can see a booger duck dives at 0:09 to the left of the silver (helmeted) surfer sitting up on his board, in front of where Joao is about to take off. Looks like the turbulence from the duck dive got sucked up into the lip as Joao is getting to his feet. He was in a pretty radical position to take off but certainly looked like it was makeable. An example of how critical and dangerous that place is when even the best get hurt.

Slo-mo looks like he was just to Late

https://www.youtube.com/live/tEi1k0ZTcoc?si=rlt-CUG5BIRQ3-o8&t=1016
from 16:59

Hawaii Lifeguards absolutely on point

Apologies if already posted, sobering viewing watching the rescue on this clip.

Did he actually bonk his head or was it just the Thrashing from hell ...

Jesus that’s hard core ..top points all involved in the rescue effort ..hopefully a rapid recovery

Full on!

Great response from the crew.

Heavy photos in this spread.

View this post on Instagram

Jeeeez, not wrong ld

He doesn’t look in a good way.
So lucky his leggy held, he’d be toast if not.
Awesome job by everyone helping

Mens CT 2022/23 (Reefer Madness)
Pre Comp - Warm Ups

G Land Seth [X] Pre comp
Pipe Ramzi [X] North Shore Warm Up

Pipe Da Hui [X] [X] [X]
Pipe LOB [X] Pre Comp
Pipe Jadson [X] Pre Comp + Also Head injury at 2017 J bay Comp free surf
Portugal Slab Pupo [X] Comp
Bells Jack [X] Comp > Loses #1
Mentawai Mikala [X] {RIP}
Teahupoo Ewing [X] Pre Comp
Pipe Joao [X] North Shore Warm Up

Good Health to all ...
Plenty of New Breed Top Rank Pros wiping themselves out for WSL Comps

Brother says he was unconscious but is now Ok...
Got concussion > was under water for a bit > Knocked unconscious
Surgery on the Cut/s Crack to his head...in stable condition.
https://olimpiadatododia.com.br/surfe/564297-joao-chianca-sofre-grave-ac...
https://www.metropoles.com/esportes/video-surfista-brasileiro-e-socorrid...
https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/ultimas-noticias/agencia/2023/12/04/surfi...

On point as always HWP. Hope you get better soon Joao, the tour needs you.
Honestly wasn't much of a fan at first but he won me over with his hunger, talent and courage.
The pipe event a couple of years ago when he came up against Jack and in Steve's words, made him cute?, which he did exactly through pure head down charging and some luck with the sets.(or jack's not so good wave pick? Big JR fan btw)
Same at any other heavy break, he's a stand out. Big loss if he can't come good in time.

I wonder if the WSL has a head injury/concussion protocol?

Hmmmm......sounds inconclusive.
Has been tested yet for a baseline?
From STAB interview with JMD.

Can you explain the new Concussion Protocol that the WSL is adopting?
The main element of the protocol is the concussion baseline, which we are screening all athletes for before the start of the year. This is going to allow us to make informed decisions on the day around the health and safety of our athletes as we will have a comparison.

The goal of the pre-season baseline test is to better help medical professionals diagnose concussions when they happen, help our athletes in their recovery process, and ultimately, help our athletes safely return to competition.

To create the new protocol, we consulted various medical experts, both within our WSL medical team framework and also third parties.

And what is the Return to Competition protocol?
Return to Competition only happens after an athlete has returned to their pre-concussion baseline and they’ve gone through a step-by-step progression of increasing activity. In addition, they may not return to competition until they have been evaluated and cleared to return to competition by a doctor with expertise in concussions. Our Return to Competition Protocol is a key part of our focus on athlete health and safety. Studies have shown that, among other things, an athlete may be more likely to suffer another concussion while symptomatic from the first one and that continuing to compete after a concussion increases the chance of sustaining other injuries, too.

Geez hope he is ok.
Legend response from first responders.

Likely got trapped in one of the many little caves and word little grottoes in that section of the reef to be under and tombstoning in the same spot, which would also explain cuts to head etc

Ironically was surfing with gt, one of the lifeguards pulling him in many years ago when we were groms and he had the same thing happen on a lesser scale. Hairy.

Don't you love lifeguards.
Total respect.

I just watched JOB youtube drone footage that he got sucked back over after the first pin drop entry into the water. It just shows it can happen to the best of them.

The best in humanity. Helping a man when he is down. Well done

I suspect that there are more injuries occurring than before,
Shorter boards is the start of why, then more crowds, and when the crowds are on shorter boards they cause the pack to sit closer together, and paddle through the line up because duckdiving is easier. Helmet would help but with pros like Nat flo saying that helmets hinder performance we won't see helmets take over for a while yet.
Enjoy this time pre helmet era - Once everyone has a helmet , it's gonna suck! One day they will be a item to have, hopefully not though

Short board theory is interesting. Probably have a point. In that clip at Cloudy, Jack takes the piss out of Joao for getting smoked because he was under gunned. Those kinds of waves, it wouldn't matter to have a couple of inches more.

Joao is right up there in the professional ranks of surfers I will tune in for. It wasn’t obvious from his early comps but that man charges, he is worth watching.

Hoping for a full recovery, take it slow Joao, easy does it for a while.

Those Hawaii lifeguards are the cream of the crop.

Wishing him a speedy recovery!

How's he doing ?

Still no word from joao?

Very good to see

View this post on Instagram