Surfing superstar almost killed at Pipeline Joao Chianca makes spectacular return to water!

João Chianca squeezes his curves into rhinestone caves and sparkles like a shooting star in the air. 

Back on December three, the then world number four João Chianca scooped up a fine set at Backdoor, got a little hung in the lip, pin-dropped, came up, got hit by a set and…head strike on the reef…unconscious.

João Chianca, just twenty-three and the younger brother of big-wave surfer Lucas Chianca, was held underwater by multiple waves before being rescued by teenage hotshot and Eddie invitee Jake Maki.

Before  belted during a horror season at Pipeline where six, or was it eight, Pipe vets were badly hurt, Chianca, who “curb-stomped” Jack Robinson to win the MEO Rip Curl Pro in Portugal nine month earlier, was one of the Olympic medal favourites for Paris 2024 at Teahupoo.

A real ugly injury.

Fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, a flap of skin that needed fourteen stitches to close and, as y’might expect, concussion.

João Chianca wasn’t at Teahupoo this year, although he did take his seat at the Challenger event at Snapper finishing equal fifth.

Before, he was in Indonesia, putting together a fine little edit from a trip to what used to be called Hog Island up there in Sumatra, home to eighty-thousand souls and a short flight from the bright lights and happy faces of Medan.

João squeezes his curves into a few rhinestone caves and sparkles like a shooting star in the air.

Essential.