Kelly Slater was forced to call his run at Jeffreys Bay short on Monday after suffering an absolutely devastating broken foot.
The 11-time World Surf League Champion sustained the injury while freesurfing on Monday morning and made his way to shore where he was assisted by medical staff.
Later in the day, Slater posted on Instagram showing off the impressive break and announcing his official withdrawal from the competition. Slater described the injury as “kinda like smashing my foot with a big hammer as hard as I can. Sorta feels like I’m giving birth out of my foot right now!”
Slater also pinned himself for surgery and six weeks of rest before getting back to competition, and added that he had a 30-hour flight home to take before surgery, which sounds absolutely miserable.
The injury was especially disappointing because Slater had gotten off to a great start at the Corona Open J-Bay, having already beaten his early competition and jumped straight to the third round while other surfers were still toiling away in the second.
You can watch highlights of his run at J-Bay before he got injured below.
Het bericht Pro Surfer Kelly Slater shares x-ray of gruesome foot injury on Instagram verscheen eerst op Business Insider.