Haleiwa’s John John Florence made his comeback from a knee injury in 10-foot waves Tuesday at the Billabong Pipe Masters.
The two-time World Surf League champion won his second-round elimination heat against Kauai’s Sebastian Zietz and Portugal’s Frederico Morais to make it through to Round 3, which could be as soon as today, conditions permitting.
Florence is fighting for ratings points against 11-time world champion Kelly Slater for a spot on the two-man U.S. team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Slater placed second in his first-round heat to make it straight to the third round.
“It feels super good to be back competing again,” Florence said. “I’ve only had a few sessions here and there, kind of getting the knee moving. It would be awesome to be in the Olympics. That was one of the main reasons I came back (now). We’ll see what happens. It was fun today with some good waves, but it was definitely tricky and difficult out there. The knee is feeling super good. It was nerve-wracking this morning, getting back in the jersey and I was like, ‘OK, here we go,’ but once I got a few waves I tried not to think about it any more.”
In the season-long race, Florence, ranked No. 8 on tour, has 33,220 ratings points even though he missed five events with the injury. Slater, at No. 10, is 3,130 behind, with 30,090.
Who gets farther at Pipe has the better shot at the Olympics. By making it to the third round, both are guaranteed at least 1,330 points, and any advancement after that will pile up more — 3,320 for surfing into the fourth round, 4,745 for getting into the quarterfinals, 6,085 for a semifinals appearance, 7,800 for placing second and 10,000 for a Pipe victory.
It may have been gamesmanship, but Slater sounded like he was conceding the Olympic berth to Florence.
“I probably gotta beat John by two or three results,” he said. “If I get first, he has to get (third or fifth), something like that. Look, he’s in. He surfed a great year. If I do happen to get in, I’ll think about it. I wish we could both be in. If he gets in, I’m happy for him, and if I get it, it means I had a great contest, so we’ll see what happens.”
Florence started the day by placing third out of three competitors in his first-round heat, and, unlike Slater, then needed to get through possible elimination in Round 2.
Hawaii’s Ezekiel Lau, Billy Kemperand Seth Moniz won their first-round heats Tuesday to also get to Round 3, and Zietz, with his runner-up heat finish to Florence in the second round, also advanced.
Lau had the best wave score of the day, a 9.73 for a big barrel.
“To get waves like that, the ones that matter in heats like that, it means the world to me,” Lau said. “I just kept telling myself, ‘The wave will pick you and I just sat there and it came to me.’ ”
As the Pipe Masters moves forward, three big prizes — the world championship, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title, and the coveted Pipe Masters crown — will be scooped up.
The five surfers who are in the chase for the world crown all made it through to Round 3 with big performances Tuesday — No. 1 Italo Ferreira, No. 2 Gabriel Medina and No. 4 Filipe Toledo of Brazil, No. 3 Jordy Smith of South Africa and No. 5 Kolohe Andino of San Clemente, Calif.
Andino has already secured a U.S. spot in the 2020 Olympics.
The Triple Crown standings leaders are Morais and Australia’s Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson.
VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING
>> Hawaiian Pro Frederico Morais (Portugal) champion
>> Vans World Cup of Surfing Jack Robinson (Australia) champion
>> Billabong Pipe Masters through Dec. 20, conditions permitting, at Pipeline
