During a free surf at Pipeline on Tuesday afternoon, Joel Parkinson sustained an injury that forced him to withdraw from the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. Bloodied and bruised, Parko was seen on the beach being treated by the medical staff and later, according to Dr. Leland Dau, was transported to a nearby hospital to receive further assessment as a precautionary measure.
Replacing Joel Parkinson will be Yadin Nicol, who has proven time and time again that he surfs the North Shore just as well as any other competitor on the World Championship Tour.
It is an unfortunate turn of events for world Number 6, but Parko insisted on sending a clear message that, although he will not return to compete at Sunset, he plans to surf in the Billabong Pipe Masters which begins in just 5 days. We are all hoping a speedy recovery for Joel Parkinson, because a contest at Pipeline without Joel is like having Cheech without Chong or Oreos without milk – it’s just not the same.
