Ethan Ewing Makes Mind-Blowing Injury Recovery, Surfs Lowers in Warmup for WSL Finals (Video)
Welp, this was unexpected.
Less than a month ago, Aussie surfer Ethan Ewing, then ranked number two in the world, wiped out during a warmup session at Teahupo’o, breaking his L3 and L4 vertebrae.
“I hit the reef really hard at teahupoo the other morning fracturing bones in my lower back,” Ethan wrote. “The wipeout was a huge shock and I’m super devastated…”
He pulled out of the Shiseido Tahiti Pro, and although he maintained his spot in the top five (dropping to number three in the world) and a shot at a World Title come Finals Day, things weren’t looking good for Ethan. A broken back with a month to recover?
Not the best odds.
But, then, shockingly, the other day EE broke his social media silence, and appeared to be on the mend and on his way to California for the Finals, which will run in a one-day, winner-take-all bracket competition sometime between September 8th-16th.
Now, the first look at Ethan surfing, post-injury, has emerged.
And...he's looking pretty good, too. Patented stylish carves, quick, light on his feet.
Captioning the clip, Ethan’s eyewear sponsor Oakley wrote:
“We’re stoked to see @ethan_ewing back in action at Lowers! Looking good, Eth!”
However, he can't be feeling 100 percent recovered; not after an injury like that.
One commenter wrote:
"Anyone else holding their breath on every turn? ?? So stoked to see him back!! ?? Let’s go EE!!"
After Ethan’s injury, lots of folks speculated that he wouldn’t recover in time for Finals Day, and therefore, he should be replaced by the next surfer down the rankings: Gabriel Medina. However, the WSL wouldn’t have it. It looked like it was going to be a Final Four duking it out at the cobblestone gladiator pit of Lower Trestles.
But all the fuss was for nothing.
E-dawg is back.
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