Jack Robinson has revealed he won his Paris Olympics silver medal while surfing carrying a serious knee injury, with the top-ranked Australian male finally undergoing surgery.
The 27-year-old, who finished the 2025 season as world No.5, went under the knife more than two years after he suffered the injury while competing at Victoria's Bells Beach.
The West Australian entered that event in April 2023 as the rankings leader, winning at Hawaii's Pipeline, then finishing runner-up at Sunset Beach and third in Portugal.
But Robinson twisted his knee while trying to regain the heat lead against Torquay wildcard Xavier Huxtable, falling off the wave and crashing out of the competition.
The injury meant he couldn't compete at the next World Surf League tour stop at his home break Margaret River, and he struggled at the following three events before rescuing the year with a Tahiti Pro victory.
But Robinson revealed he was surfing in pain, including in 2024 when he won the Olympic silver at Teahupo'o, where the surfing was held.
He posted on Instagram that he'd finally had the knee injury repaired.
"Got hurt 2.5 years ago at Bells Beach, a pretty gnarly meniscus injury. I managed to push through it for two seasons, all the way through the comps and the Olympics," Robinson wrote.
"With the right training and diet, the doctors were impressed that it actually reattached almost completely on its own without surgery, but the pain never fully went away, and I couldn't push to my limits.
"Now with a bit of time off, it was finally time to get it sorted properly. Surgery went well and I'm focused on healing up, rebuilding strength, and coming back better than ever."
On crutches and wearing a heavy leg brace, Robinson has started his rehabilitation.
The 2026 WSL tour calendar has been reworked and the start date pushed back, with the iconic Bells Beach event opening the year, with the competition window running from October 1-11.
The next stop is Margaret River and Snapper Rocks, before heading off-shore to El Salvador.
