Hello Lina, unfortunately you suffered a pretty serious injury in Chile at the beginning of the year, a Lisfranc torsion... How is your recovery going and how fit are you at the moment?
Yes, the last few months went a little differently than planned. I was lucky that I didn't have to have an operation and was well looked after medically and physiotherapeutically. After wearing a moon boot for six weeks, I was able to slowly start walking again and about a month ago I was able to start light training again. I would say I'm 70-80% fit, which is a good basis.
I'm 70-80% fit, which is a good basis."
You won here last year - an injury beforehand is probably not the ideal condition to defend your title, but what are your expectations for the event?
To be honest, at the moment I'm just happy to be back on the water and competing at one of my favourite places on the tour. I'm not going to focus on results, I'm just going to have fun, enjoy my time here, hopefully stay healthy and have as little pain as possible while surfing.
When did you have your first session and how does your foot feel overall?
I only started surfing again last week. Foot straps are honestly torture on the feet haha. In the turns there is quite a lot of pressure on the back foot, which is injured, and I feel like I can't give that much pressure. Nevertheless, the doctor has confirmed that the foot is stable and even after several days of surfing in a row, the pain doesn't get any worse. I try to take it easy, do shorter sessions and enjoy every minute on the water.
And how are you feeling mentally with your foot?
It's something I didn't realise before as I've never been injured. It's quite a balancing act to pay attention to how your foot feels, while letting go a little and not thinking too much all the time. I've realised that it helps me to have fun surfing as I can get into the flow a bit and mentally trust that my foot will hold up.
If you had to pick the top three men, who would you choose and why?
That's a difficult question, as I think many have the potential to win. Hmmm, maybe:
- Marc Paré
- Julian Salmonn
- Marcilio Browne
