World champion took 20 years to get back in the water
By Samantha Elley
For 20 years, Joel Taylor stayed out of the water after an horrific bodyboarding accident that resulted in his paraplegia.
“I had my injury in 2001 at Pipeline, Hawaii,” the now 43-year-old man said.
“I was a professional body boarder.
“Now I’m a pro on a surf board and I have 20 year to make up.”
And that is exactly what the Lennox Head man is doing.
Joel is the Australian Para Surfing Champion, World Para Surfing Champion, Australian Para Surfer of the Year and Ballina Shire Citizen of the Year.
“I successfully defended my Australian Para Surfing Title at the 2024 Australian Surfing Championships, comboing the field in the final with the highest heat total of the event,” he said.
Next step, defending his world title at the ISA World Para Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach, California in November.
“Before that, I will be at Oceanside, California in early September for the fourth and final event of the world adaptive surfing tour,” said Joel.
“I am in the running to win the tour championship in my rookie year.”
Not bad for someone who, at the beginning of the year, wasn’t sure he wanted to keep competing.
“I’d had a big year last year, so I was 50-50,” he said.
“Then I decided to go all in.
“My main goal has been winning Australian titles again.”
Joel’s regime includes exercising twice a day, six days a week, then surfing a few times a week.
This is a far cry from the man who refused to go in the water after his accident.
“There was fear, anger and just the unknown,” he said of giving up his surfing.
“There was only a handful of people who surfed with disabilities, and I didn’t know it was a possibility.
“I didn’t know there was a whole sport developing and once I found that out and I could access the beach, (I’m hoping) para surfing could be included in the Paralympics.”
While he uses a surfboard, rather than a bodyboard now, Joel Taylor said that it felt natural.
“It felt like I’d been in the water yesterday. All those years faded away. I was supposed to be there. It felt like I was home,” he said.
“Once I am in the ocean, I am independent.
“I need help to get down to the water, but I catch waves by myself.
“I ride prone doing a combination of bodyboarding and surfing. Similar moves to stand up surfing in a prone position.
“It’s a hell of a lot of fun even if I get funny looks from people.”
Joel Taylor hopes that para surfing will be included in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
“It was approved by the IOC and IPC, but unfortunately the organisation committee for LA knocked back the suggestion to put us in,” he said.
“We have a petition going around to get us included.
“Any additional signatures would be great.”
If you would like to sign the petition to get para surfing in the LA 2028 Paralympics, you can go to the link below:
Petition · Save Paralympic Surfing LA 2028 – United States · Change.org.
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