Hawaiian surfer John John Florence says he was unaffected by a shark sighting and elbow injury ahead of his win at the World Surf League Margaret River Pro.
Event organisers deployed water patrol and put competition on hold during a semi final match up after large schools of salmon and several sharks surfaced near competitors Kolohe Andino and Brazil’s Felipe Toledo.
Both surfers were ferried out of the water for 20 minutes on jet skis as surveillance continued with the assistance of a helicopter.
Toldeo said he was thankful for the rapid response of water patrol, telling the ABC he initially had “no idea” what was happening.
“There was all sorts of splashing going on and in the end we sort of had a conversation with the sharks and fish,” Toledo laughed after eventually losing his match up to Andino.
“It helped having the water patrol there so quickly and it was good to put the heat on hold for a little bit.”
Several recreational surfers took advantage of the situation and rode a number of waves as the surveillance continued.
Marine life encounters to be expected
Eventual winner John John Florence said encounters such as the one Toledo and Andino faced were to be expected “out there in ocean.”
“It is what it is, there’s sharks there’s fish and there’s whales out there and it’s why we love coming here,” Florence said.
“It didn’t bother me; we have good water patrol and it’s all part of surfing in the end.”
Florence, the current world champion, was the form surfer throughout the event but went into the final nursing a elbow injury he incurred in his semi-final against the Australia’s Jack Freestone.
