Two-time surfing world champion Tyler Wright says she will be fit to compete for Australia at the Olympics next month despite pulling out of a competition taking place this week, but Surfing Australia has confirmed veteran Sally Fitzgibbons is on standby in case a replacement is needed.
Wright was listed to compete at Brazil’s Rio Pro this week but withdrew from the tournament because of an unidentified injury, casting doubt over whether the 30-year-old will take on the formidable Teahupo’o wave as Tahiti hosts Olympic surfing.
Wright revealed on the World Surf League broadcast in March that she’d had seven screws inserted in her head due to a breathing issue with which she continued to struggle.
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“Tyler has been advised by her doctors and specialists that she needs some treatment and would prefer her sitting out Brazil,” a spokesperson for Wright told The Guardian.
“Tyler will be 100 per cent ready for the Olympics.”
Wide World of Sports contacted Wright’s management for comment.
WWOS also confirmed with Surfing Australia that Fitzgibbons and Ryan Callinan had been selected as standby athletes for the Olympic competition, beginning on July 27 and wrapping up on August 5.
Surfing Australia told WWOS that Fitzgibbons, 33, and Callinan, 32, had been identified as the surfers next in line before Wright’s Rio Pro withdrawal.
Wright and Molly Picklum were in May selected to surf for Australia in Teahupo’o, as were Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson, but Fitzgibbon’s chances of featuring at a second Olympic Games have been revived by Surfing Australia’s standby decision.
“Preparations continue with Tyler, Molly, Jack and Ethan to depart for Tahiti in the coming month,” Surfing Australia said in a statement provided to WWOS.
“At this point in time there is no changes to the team or plans.
“We do have standard plans in place for a replacement surfer if one of the Olympians is required to withdraw from the Games which is common practice to ensure we are well prepared. Sally Fitzgibbon and Ryan Callinan are the replacement surfers if that was to occur.”
Fitzgibbons competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, where surfing made its Olympic debut. The crowd favourite from Gerroa, a town on the south coast of NSW, bowed out in the quarter-finals.