Interview with Josep Pons – Injury Update Post Surgery

Josep Pons suffered a serious crash during the single elimination at the 2025 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup.

While attempting a backside air, the Spanish windsurfer landed on his fin, resulting in a serious cut and a fractured femur. He lost a significant amount of blood and had to undergo surgery.

We caught up with Josep to talk about the injury, the surgery and his road to recovery.

Continentseven: How are you feeling after your surgery and serious injury you sustained in Pozo 2025?

Josep Pons: It’s been almost four weeks since the accident happened. The recovery process has taken longer than expected, because the bone fracture wasn’t detected right away, which delayed the correct diagnosis and treatment.
Luckily things are improving now. The pain has reduced significantly, and I’ve started to move around a bit — although I still can’t put weight on my foot. I’m seeing progress step by step and that gives me motivation to keep pushing through the recovery.
After the surgery I went through quite a painful period. During the operation they had to work hard to manipulate the muscles and reach the exact point where the bone needed to be fixed, which made the recovery process more complicated and painful. Without a doubt, it’s been one of the most difficult and painful injury experiences I’ve had.
That said I’m feeling mentally strong and positive now! I’m determined to recover from this injury and come back just as strong – or even stronger – because the rehab process will also push me to improve physically.

Josep Pons with his x-ray image post surgery

C7: Can you tell us exactly what kind of injury you sustained?

Josep: On the day of the accident they only found a deep muscular cut – about 10 cm long and three fingers deep. There was no apparent damage to tendons, ligaments or arteries. And they didn’t detect any bone fracture. I was taken to surgery where they stitched the wound assuming that was all.
However, ten days later I was still in a lot of pain around the hip area, so I went to get it checked again on my own. After doing an X-ray and a CT scan they found a displaced fracture of the greater trochanter of the femur, which required an immediate surgery.
That diagnosis changed everything. What initially seemed like a minor injury with a straightforward recovery turned into something far more serious. I won’t be allowed to put weight on my foot or walk until the end of August. So it’s going to be a long recovery process.

Josep Pons talks about his injury

C7: How did the injury happen? 

Josep: The accident happened during a backside aerial. I was using a board I hadn’t ridden in a while. I thought I could control it, but the foot straps weren’t properly adjusted. The conditions were tough – strong, gusty and aggressive wind. Right as I launched into the move, a strong gust hit me. My back foot slipped out of the strap and I lost control. The board twisted mid-air and I landed hard on the fins – basically felt backwards right onto them. One of the fins caused a deep cut, and the impact, along with the motion and the awkward landing, created a leverage effect that fractured the greater trochanter of my femur.
At that moment I didn’t know the bone was broken. I just felt something was off. I tried to waterstart three times, but my back leg didn’t respond. I felt a sort of “clicking” in the hip and assumed it was muscular.
Eventually I managed to waterstart using the front leg and slowly made my way back to the beach. There was a lot of blood. People on the beach were really shocked, thinking I might bleed out. Luckily the bleeding was controlled quickly and I was taken to the hospital, where they operated me.

C7: How does your daily rehab look like at the moment?

Josep: I’ve already started rehab. I’m working with Daida Ruano Moreno and we’ve done several sessions together. Also, as a coach myself, I’ve been in close communication with the orthopedic surgeons to understand exactly what I can do at each stage and what I need to avoid.
Together with the doctors and Daida we’re carefully evaluating the best ways to start reactivating the muscles – always without putting any weight on the foot yet. I need to wait six weeks post-surgery before I can begin weight-bearing. That means I still have about a month to go. So if everything goes well, I’ll be able to start walking again by the end of August.
The goal now is to slowly work on muscle activation and scar adaptation so that once I can put weight on the leg, the muscular recovery is as fast and smooth as possible. I’m doing everything I can to get back on the water as soon as possible and in top shape.

C7: Are you still able to run your Pons coachings?

Josep: Fortunately, the way I work today – with online training plans and coaching, as well as recording and technical feedback sessions from the beach using BB Talkin headsets – allows me to stay fully active even during recovery.
Even though I’m not yet strong enough to get back on the water, I’m completely focused on helping other windsurfers improving their technique and performance. I’m also using this time to catch up on some computer-based tasks I had pending and, of course, to keep training and working on the parts of my body I can. So I’ll be in the best shape possible when the time comes to return to the water.

C7: You are a very experienced windsurfer at Pozo Izquierdo. Would you say the accident was just bad luck or a moment of not enough concentration? Or were the conditions extremely tough on that day?

Josep: Yes, I do have experience in those kinds of conditions – in fact they’re my favorite ones in Pozo. But it’s true that this year the wind was extremely gusty and aggressive. That day I even mentioned to a few friends that I had a strange feeling, like we really needed to be careful because something could go wrong.
In my case, it was a mix of bad luck and a small technical issue. My back foot came out of the strap – something that happens sometimes – but it coincided with a strong gust. The board spun and I landed right on the fins. I don’t think it was a concentration problem, more just a series of unfortunate events.
Still, I was lucky within the bad luck. If I had hit an artery or landed on my back instead of my glute, it could’ve ended really badly. In that moment, everyone was in shock and really worried, but thankfully things turned out okay – and I’m here to tell the story.

C7: You are 41 years of age and you still land the craziest air moves in 45+ knots. Will this injury change your mindset or is your goal to go as big as you did in the past, when you are fully recovered again? Or will you now take it easier?

Josep: Yes, I’m 41 years old, but I love sailing in strong wind, because it allows you to perform maneuvers you can’t do in other conditions. Of course, I will keep doing it, because it’s what I enjoy.
That said, it does make me pause a bit and think twice about not doing it until I have 100% control. When you compete, you often push maneuvers that maybe you shouldn’t push, and that’s when accidents can happen.
If I return to competition – which I’m not sure about yet – I will probably be more cautious about that. But in terms of windsurfing, personal growth and learning, I still want to improve. I have ideas and maneuvers I want to try that I haven’t tried yet.
My goal is to come back as strong as possible and with the desire to keep improving my windsurfing day by day. So I will come back – and I’ll come back stronger.

C7: How much does it hurt to miss the event in Tenerife and will we see you on tour in 2026 again?

Josep: I’m okay. I know this season is definitely over for me. Right now my main focus is on recovering as well as possible and making sure I come back without any long-term issues – so I can maintain the quality of life I want: no pain, full mobility and the ability to keep windsurfing at the same level.
As for the full tour I honestly don’t think I’ll be doing it again. Between family responsibilities, work commitments and the financial side of things, it’s just not easy to sustain. Only people with strong financial backing or those without family obligations can realistically commit to traveling that much.
In my case, I’ll continue to take part in the Canary Islands events whenever I can – and maybe a few others if the opportunity arises. But I’ll likely approach it with a different mindset. When you’re a parent and you go through an accident like the one I had, you realize how quickly things can go wrong. A single moment can change everything. You could drown, bleed out or be left with a life-altering injury. That kind of experience makes you think deeply about what really matters.
Still, I’ll keep windsurfing, pushing my limits, and doing what I love – possibly even competing again, if the conditions are right. It’s something I discussed seriously with my father, and although it wasn’t an easy conversation, it gave me a lot of clarity.
That said, I’m planning to come back in 2026—stronger, more prepared, and more motivated than ever.

C7: Is there anything positive you can take from this injury?

Josep: Yes, I’m one of those who believes that all the obstacles, setbacks, and problems that arise daily -in life, work, or sports – help you become better. For me, it’s always a positive reinforcement: the harder life hits me, the stronger the blow, and the tougher the goal we have to achieve, the more effort and work I put into improving myself.
I strive to be a better person, a better athlete, and a better professional, both in training and coaching. And that’s exactly what I’ll do now: I’ll use this experience to keep learning and improving, both as an athlete and as a coach, so I can better transfer and teach my clients and good surfers.
Of course, I always believe that in my case, all of this will help me come back stronger and more motivated.

C7: Muchissimo gracias Josep for the interview!

Josep: Thanks a lot to you for your time and your interest on me.