Il campione ASP Joel Parkinson ha rivelato al Gold Coast Bullettin di aver rischiato di affogare domenica scorsa. Il suo leash è rimasto incastrato tra le rocce del fondale impedendogli di ritornare in superficie dopo un wipe out.
Come accade spesso, sono proprio le onde di casa su cui abbiamo più familiarità e che tendiamo a sottovalutare che nascondono le insidie maggiori quando meno te lo aspetti. E’ quello che è successo a Parkinson, abituato a surfare sulle onde più pericolose del pianeta e che in attesa di questa prima grossa mareggiata della stagione era eccitato dalla possibilità di provare il nuovo jet ski appena acquistato.
Per rispetto dei locals, che non voglio l’invasione dello spot, Parko non ha voluto rivelare lo spot dove è avvenuto il fatto, ma ha dichiarato di essere rimasto terrorizzato e di aver rischiato davvero grosso, dopo che gli erano rimasti solo pochi secondi di aria sott’acqua prima che il leash si sganciasse fortunatamente e autonomamente dalla roccia in cui si era impigliato.
“Non pensavo che sarei riemerso” ha detto Joel, “Ci sono andato vicinissimo, alla fine il leash si è disincagliato. Non l’ho detto nemmeno a mia moglie Monica da quanto ho avuto paura, solo a mio padre.”
English Version
FORMER world champion surfer Joel Parkinson has taken on some of the world’s most dangerous breaks, but it was a wave in his own backyard that almost killed him on the weekend.
Parkinson struck trouble in northern NSW on Sunday when he paddled out to take advantage of the first large swells of 2014. The 2012 world champ’s leg rope became snagged on submerged rocks after he was knocked off his board and thrown into the water. Parkinson said he was trapped underwater for what seemed like an eternity until his leash finally pulled loose from the rocks and allowed him to reach the surface.
“I couldn’t get up,” he told the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday.
“I only had about 10 seconds of air left.
“It scared the absolute bejesus out of me.
“I didn’t think I was going to get back up.
“It was a close call.
“Finally the leash gave way.”
Parkinson, who has two children, Evie and Macy, said the incident rattled him so much that he did not even tell his wife Monica.
“The only person I told was my dad,” he said.Parkinson is a renowned big wave surfer who has won Hawaii’s coveted triple crown of surfing three times.He has mastered some of the world’s most dangerous breaks including Teahupoo in Tahiti.
The leg rope incident happened after Parkinson admitted his increasing frustration at the lack of surf on the Gold Coast.
He took to Instagram and Facebook to vent, telling followers: “After a few slow weeks of waves, I’m starting to lose my s … t! Getting so keen to surf that last night I dreamt of surfing big barrels”.
Then on Saturday, before the incident, he posted a photograph of himself showing his new jet ski in the background and wrote: “All pumped for the 1st real swell of 2014”.