Qualifying for the Olympics is tough in any sport. It can be a slog. It can be a grind. It can be damn near impossible if you’re injured. This is what John John Florence faced last year as he pushed to qualify for the 2020 Games (which have since been pushed back to 2021 thanks to the pandemic). In 2019, after starting off the year better than he ever had at any point in his career, he suffered what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury.
Now, a reminder of the context: the top two American qualifiers at the end of the CT year would represent the Stars and Stripes in Tokyo. This would also be the first time surfing would be included in the grand spectacle that is the Olympics. Everyone wanted a piece. John John and Parallel Sea released a trailer today for their new film, Tokyo Rising, which will essentially tell the behind-the-scenes story of Kelly Slater chasing down John to try and overtake him to qualify, and Mr. Florence’s unprecedented return from ACL reconstruction. Spoiler! He would return to competition five months after surgery to compete at Pipeline to block the King from taking his Olympic spot.
The saga will definitely make for good (and hopefully spicy) viewing. The film drops on Amazon Prime November 12.
