Owen Wright's long road to recovery ends with return to action in Newcastle

It was a moment many in the surfing community feared would never happen. But at Mereweather Beach in Newcastle on Tuesday, Owen Wright made his eagerly-anticipated return to competition at the Maitland and Port Stephens Pro, more than a year after sustaining career-threatening brain injuries.

Uncertainty over Wright’s future in professional surfing has hung thick in the air around the 27-year-old Australian for the past 14, long months, but finally, as he took to the water at the World Surf League qualifying event in his home state of New South Wales, a clearer indication of his recovery was delivered.

Surfing in the 13th heat of the day, Wright promptly eased into the third round, dismissing the American, Nathan Yeomans, and Brazilians Luel Felipe and Alan Donato with a total score of 15.33.

“That felt amazing,” Wright said afterwards. “There was nothing I wanted to do more then go out there and smash a few waves and I got to do it and I was so stoked.”

Wright’s career had been put in jeopardy by the fall during a freesurf before the main season-ending competition at Banzai Pipeline in December 2015. The notorious Hawaiian reef break left the Australian in hospital with severe concussion and minor bleeding on the brain, and forced him out of the running for that year’s world title.

He later suffered memory and function loss and did not get back on a board until four months after the accident. Even then, he found it difficult and former pro surfer Luke Munro said it was like Wright “had to learn how to surf all over again”.

“It was no doubt the hardest year of my life and the biggest rollercoaster,” Wright said. “I’m on the other side of it now and I feel better and stronger and more excited to have this rash shirt on again to compete.”

Earlier on Tuesday, defending champion Matt Wilkinson failed to progress, the highest-ranked Australian at the event falling to Japan’s Yuji Mori in the first heat of the second round. Compatriot Kai Otton was also bounced out early.

The 6,000-point event serves as a qualifier for the main 2017 tour, which gets underway at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast in March. Wright is weighing up the possibility of activating an injury wildcard that would open the door to his return to the World Surf League tour.