Lennox Head parasurfer, Joel Taylor, has been crowned World Champion (prone division) after dominating a week of surf- ing against an international field at California’s Hunting- ton Beach.
‘I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, to be honest. I’ve dreamt of being world champion since I was 13 years old’.
‘To actually do it, three decades later, when I thought I wouldn’t ever surf again, is surreal,’ he said.
‘I worked really hard to achieve this goal I set my sights on 12 months ago, and I made a lot of sacrifices and my family did too.’
Following support from the local community for his GoFundMe campaign, Joel was able to travel to the event with his family.
Team captain
Moreover, Joel was team captain at his first ever inter- national competition.
‘It was a huge honour to lead the national team,’ he said.
The former Byron Bay High Schooler had five surfs across six days to get to the champion’s podium.
‘The conditions were surprisingly good,’ he said.
‘Huntington Beach can be hit or miss, but we got lucky and there was one metre
clean swell for the entire week.’
Joel started surfing as a bodyboarder over 30 years ago before an accident left him a paraplegic.
Joel’s return to the surf was facilitated by finding the right equipment.
After an extended search he finally found a board that
was exactly as he imagined. ‘As soon as I got my hands
on it, I knew instantly.
‘This is it,’ he said. Former multiple champi-
onship winner, Mark ‘Mono’ Stewart, missed out on a podium finish this year.
It was the first time this has happened to the Byron Bay local since 2015.
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