Australian surf legend Mick Fanning says the sport is in good hands following a successful showing at the Olympics, and one that he wishes he could’ve competed in.
Surfing at the Olympics made its debut this year at the Tokyo Games.
The event was a major highlight for Australian fans, with Owen Wright bringing home a bronze medal after edging out two-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil in a thrilling minor medal contest.
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Fanning, three-time world champion (2007, 2009, 2013), admitted his eyes were glued to the screen during the Games.
“I watched every minute of the Olympics, it was so cool to see friends and peers on that Olympic stage,” Fanning told Wide World of Sports.
“I always dreamt of doing that as a kid, but to see friends go and be there was so incredible.
“How much it means to people all over the world, especially Owen Wright getting a bronze medal, it was like he won the gold – it was that cool.
“Everyone that participated in it did such a good job, I was really proud of everyone.”
Asked if the Olympics gave him an itch to return to competitive surfing, Fanning admitted he wished the event had occurred during his days at the top of the surfing world tour.
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“It would’ve been awesome if it was around in my time,” he said.
“It would’ve been a huge focus, but unfortunately for us it wasn’t.
“But I’m just stoked to be able to watch from afar and hopefully one day I can go and be on the beach and witness it.”
Fanning, 40, announced his first retirement from surfing in 2018.
He stunned Australian fans earlier this year by coming out of retirement for a one-off event in April at the World Surf League’s Narrabeen Classic.
While he hasn’t ruled out coming back again for another event, Fanning admits his mindset needs to be in the right place if that was to happen.
“I haven’t ruled out [coming back] or anything like that,” he said.
“It’s not my number one focus at the moment… I guess we’ve just got to see what happens in the world.
“It was fun to be in that event, but once I put on the jersey – I sort of didn’t really care about the result.
“If you want to be at that level, you really have to care and put everything into it.
“I still get try out each and every day [to surf]. I can’t just drop everything and leave when I want, being a parent… I still surf a fair bit and enjoy it.
“I’m looking forward to the days when I can go surfing with my son.”
Fanning spoke to Wide World of Sports on behalf of his partnership with Red Bull.
Red Bull’s Foam Wreckers‘ competition will head to Australia, with three events scheduled to take place in Margaret River, River mouth, WA (18 December 2021), Manly, NSW (12 February 2022) and the Gold Coast, QLD (19 February 2022).
The event is about having as much fun as possible, anyone can enter and it will be done so on a soft-top (foam) surfboard.
“It’s great. It’s a great fun concept,” Fanning said of the Foam Wreckers event.
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“We’ve had different soft board events in Australia and everyone just seems to have the best time… it’s going to be a good time.
“We’ve seen significant growth in surfing over the last five to 10 years and going into the Olympics – it was a big eye-opener for surfing.
“I love watching peoples’ faces when they learn how to surf and stand up for the first time. You always remember that feeling [of standing up].
“You always chase that feeling. Even today after surfing, I always chase that feeling.
“It’s exciting to see people go and experience that and be out in the ocean.”
And if you’re keen on seeing Fanning showcase his talents with a foam board, don’t be surprised if you see him paddle out.
“I’m going to try and get to a couple of events… I will definitely be at the Queensland one,” he added.
