Can John John Florence Win A World Title And Gold Medal This Year?
Last year was John John Florence’s first full season on Championship Tour since 2017. Plagued with knee injury issues over the last several years, in 2023 he managed to stay healthy and regain some of the competitive form that carried him to two world titles. While he didn’t win an event, he earned third-place finishes at Bells Beach, Margaret River and Rio—all locations he’s been successful at in the past. He also added fifth-place finishes at Pipe and Tahiti to land ranked eighth in the world and secure a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
But that was then, this is now. In a couple days the Pipe Pro will kick off, and with it, a big year for Florence. After a fitful offseason that took him down to New Zealand to get away from it all before returning home to Hawaii and putting the screws to his 2024 preparations, Florence has been making the most of the swells on the North Shore and appears intent on clawing his back to the top of the sport.
Big Surf On Tap For Opening Days Of Pipe Pro
More than any other surfer in the field, Florence benefits the most from the Championship Tour starting at Pipe. One of the most successful competitors at the infamous reef, his last win there came in 2021. Since 2011 he’s made the quarterfinals or better of every event except two. His natural affinity and comfort for the break put him in the upper echelon of surfers in the draw, but more than that, the man has a little fire in his belly this year.
Looking to build momentum straight out of the gates, Florence is clearly focused on the first two stops of the year at Pipe and Sunset Beach. If he can get a jump on the field before the tour heads to Portugal and Australia he should be able to set himself up for success later in the year. The tour comes to Tahiti in May, which will provide him with a bit of a warmup before the Olympics return there in July. There aren’t a lot of surfers in the world right now that could be considered to win both a world title and a gold medal in the same year, Florence is one of them.
Gabe Medina Vs. John John Florence Is The Kind Of Rivalry Surfing Needs In 2024
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.