After more than twelve months away from the competitive spotlight, former world number three Owen Wright will make his long-awaited return to professional surfing this week at the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota Pro in Newcastle. Following a horror head injury suffered at Pipe in December 2015, the hard-charging Aussie goofy-footer spent a long and uncertain fourteen months recovering, but was recently given the all-clear to return by both his own doctors and the WSL medical staff.
Owen’s return brings a positive end to what has been a tight-lipped and much speculated-about recovery period, with some rumours last year suggesting he may never return to his full potential in the water. 2016 wasn’t without its high points for the Big O, however, with sister Tyler claiming her maiden world title and Owen and partner Kita Alexander welcoming their first child Vali into the world in December.
Now the recovery has come full circle, as Owen will compete in the QS6000 Newcastle event this week alongside other CT surfers like Ethan Ewing and good mate and defending champ Matt Wilkinson. And while his return is a huge achievement in itself, Owen’s performance in the event will serve as a good indication of where his surfing is at and whether or not he’s ready to return to the WCT, where he has been awarded the injury wildcard for 2017. Owen’s been training hard over the summer with coach Glenn ‘Micro’ Hall, and after Micro’s success last year with both Matty Wilko and sister Tyler, you can be fairly certain that Owen’s going to be in good form when he pulls on that jersey again for the first time in over a year.
The waiting period kicks off today. Check out the action here.
