The 28-year-old native Hawaiian, who was arguably the favorite to win the gold medal at the sport’s first Olympic Games, won the Men’s Championship Tour title in 2016 and 2017, making him only the fifth surfer in history to win the title in a row takes home. He is currently number 3 in the world rankings.
Like Kolohe, John John had to overcome multiple injuries, including a cruciate ligament rupture in 2019 that required surgery and almost knocked him out of the running to make it to the Olympics. But John John was able to get the last place in the US team in December 2019 and only admit defeat Kelly Slater. The following year he won Pipe Masters 2020.
But John John suffered another blow and had to have another operation in May – this time on his other knee.
“I woke up to the report from @drwarreng that everything was going as well as possible and the procedure I had was going to give me the opportunity to surf at full speed faster than I hoped,” he wrote Instagram after the procedure. “I feel motivated to really know that the Olympics are achievable. I look forward to it and will do everything I can to make it happen!”
