Jack
Robinson
Australia
·
Surfing
Date of birth | December 27, 1997 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Perth |
Age | 28 |
Nationality | Australia |
Career start | 2019 |
Disciplines | Surfing Competition |
Known as one of the best barrel riders of his generation, Jack Robinson has been a constant presence around the WSL's Championship Tour since first competing as a wildcard at the Oakley Bali Pro back in 2013. "I lost to Kelly Slater," he says with a laugh. "I was 15 and I thought I could beat him!"
Long touted as Australian surfing's Next Big Thing, since qualifying for the Championship Tour in 2019, Jack's surfing has gone from strength to strength. Initially known for his freakish tube sense, honed in the hollow waves of his beloved West Australian, he's continued to add strings to his bow. These days he's as deadly above and below the lip as any surfer on the planet.
One look at the results sheets tell you as much. Since he grabbed his first win in 2021 at the Corona Open Mexico, Jack has scored at least one Championship Tour event win, including at legendary waves like Pipeline, Teahupo'o and twice on his home breaks at Western Australia's Margaret River.
In just his second year on tour, Jack qualified for the Rip Curl WSL Finals and finished the 2022 ranked third in the world and 2023 in fifth place.
Robinson's career best win to date surely has to be his 2023 Billabong Pro Pipeline victory, where he beat Gabriel Medina, John John Florence and Leonardo Fioravanti en route to winning surfing's most prestigious competition. Could he believe it?" I can actually. It’s been a long time coming, and so much work has gone into it all that’s it’s nice to finally see everything paying off," he said.
Starting off a huge year for surfing in the kind of form that'd already netted him two Championship Tour wins at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach and the Western Australia Margaret River Pro before the end of April, Jack's on track to have his best ever year of competitive surfing.
Any day out on the water is winning day for the Perth native however. He says: "Surfing is about as close as we get to nature and it just makes me happy. It's as simple as just getting in the ocean and catching a wave. It makes you happy. You come out a better person."
In 2024, Jack won the WSL Championship Tour in Australia. He also added a silver medal from the Paris Games to his list of accomplishments.