Rehab’s Next Wave

After a devastating ACL rupture, surf god JOHN JOHN FLORENCE used cutting-edge techniques to rebuild and strengthen his knee. But can he make it back to the top?

BY CHRIS DIXON

JOHN JOHN Florence was in a commanding position in June 2019 when he paddled out into the thumping waves of Saquarema, Brazil, during the World Surf League’s Rio competition. The 27-year-old Hawaiian had amassed a formidable lead in points and was in pole position for a third world title and one of two men’s spots on the United States Olympic team. Then, in an early heat, all that changed. Florence dropped into a big, tepee-shaped wave. But rather than offering a barrel to outrun, this peak thundered down. To escape, Florence angled hard and high over the top of the wave—then his board clipped the wave’s lip. “My knee, it just buckled,” he says. “I was flying through the air, going, Oh no.” A year earlier, he’d partially torn his…

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Men's Health (Digital) - 1 Issue, Jul/Aug 2020

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