Photo: Justine Dupont // Instagram
Justine Dupont endured a brutal back injury during the Thriller at Killers big wave competition. In a social media post, the French big wave charger provided an update on her condition from a hospital bed, vowing that she would return to the surf soon.
On February 5, Thriller at Killers got the green light. The big wave event was scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at the eponymous break off Todos Santos Island in northern Baja, Mexico. Waves were expected to be in the 20- to 25-foot range and the competitor field consisted of invitees who qualified via a digital video qualifier series. Justine Dupont was among the women’s field, sharing a lineup with 2024 winner Katie McConnell, two-time WSL Big Wave Tour champion and Peahi Challenge Champion Paige Alms, Zoe Chait, Mavericks Awards winner Bianca Valenti, and Isabelle Leonhardt. Dupont herself has won back-to-back Nazaré Challenge events.
However, Dupont would not make it to the end of the competition, as she explained in a video on Instagram. “It was an amazing event, amazing conditions, big waves,” she said. “I wanted to to catch big ones, and I ended up catching a big one on the head. I messed up my back and couldn’t surf anymore for the final. I want to thank a lot all the surfers, all the water safety, all the medical staff that helped me to get out of the water. It wasn’t easy with a messed up back.”
As Dupont explained from her hospital bed in San Diego, where she had been transferred after initially being taken to an Encinitas hospital, she had suffered an L1 vertebral fracture. Though she will be in a brace for several weeks, the athlete promised that she “will be able to surf and walk and run again in a few months, so everything’s gonna be okay.”
Grant “Twiggy” Baker and Katie McConnell ended up winning the Thriller at Killers event.
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