Teresa Bonvalot’s performances suffered after falling on urchins last year. Photo: Beatriz Ryder//ISA
Pulling urchin spines out of your foot is an unfortunate part of being a surfer. And not getting them all out can lead to more severe complications — something Teresa Bonvalot revealed she’s been dealing with firsthand.
In a post on her Instagram, the two-time Olympian and former WSL Championship Tour surfer announced that she underwent surgery to remove stubborn spines that had been affecting her surfing.
“For the past six months, it’s been a living hell, ever since I got injured representing Portugal at the ISA (World Surfing Games),” Bonvalot wrote in Portuguese.
Bonvalot placed 25th at the event in El Salvador last September. The venue, La Bocana, is a cobblestone river mouth. While the loose cobblestones are not exactly covered in urchins, as Bonvalot discovered, there are some on the rocks.
“It all started on the last wave of my heat,” Bonvalot explained. “I was thrown hard to the bottom and hit a rock with a sea urchin on it.”
Bonvalot had her foot tended to in El Salvador and thought everything would be fine, but not all the spines were removed, and problems persisted.
According to Healthline, leaving urchin spines in the body can lead to infection, and, if they are near a joint, might require surgical removal. That appears to be what happened with Bonvalot.
When Bonvalot traveled to Hawaii months later, she said she couldn’t move her foot or put weight on it.
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As a result, she couldn’t train and her results suffered. In the four Challenger Series events after the urchin incident — Ericeira, Saquarema, Pipeline, and Newcastle — Bonvalot finished 25th, 17th, 17th, and 9th, respectively.
It wasn’t enough to qualify for the CT. She finished 12th, below the top-seven mark for qualification.
“I gave my best, in the best way I could,” she said. “I gave my all within my limitations. That was my mindset: to give 100 percent, even when I only felt I had 20 percent left.”
Bonvalot underwent a 4.5-hour surgery on Friday to clean out infections and remove the lingering spines. She believes the issues will be resolved as she begins her recovery.
