Julian Wilson on the cusp of World Surf League Championship Tour return at the Gold Coast Pro
Once touted as Australia’s next world champion before suddenly disappearing from professional surfing. Now Julian Wilson has returned and detailed exactly what his ambitions are.
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Julian Wilson says he still has what it takes to match it with the best surfers on the planet as he prepares to compete for a place in his first world tour event in four years.
The difference this time is a world title isn’t the reason for his return or why he is chasing a spot on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.
“I still feel like I’m fully capable and able to compete against the best and want to have another go,” Wilson said ahead of today’s Gold Coast Pro trials where one male and one female will secure a spot in the main event that starts Saturday.
“I’m doing it from a different approach. It’s not all about chasing a world title, it’s about chasing those battles and seeing if I can still pick a few of the best guys off.
“I just want to soak it all in and not be chasing that world title dream because there is just another level of sacrifice that goes into that.
“I want to show my kids what I used to do and try and find a way to enjoy it. I want to go and test my measure and see where I’m at, see what I can achieve again.”
The 36-year-old Sunshine Coast resident was once touted as Australia’s next world title hope.
Wilson won the WSL Rookie of the Year award in 2011, finished second in the world in 2018 and has won five Championship Tour events already.
He made the sudden decision in 2021 to leave the top level after a gruelling period that included competing for Australia at the Tokyo Olympics and battling through various stints in quarantine due to Covid while competing on the tour.
Now Wilson has three children and his own surfwear business called Rivvia Projects.
“I never retired. I never looked at it like that,” Wilson said.
“I just needed to take a break under the circumstances. We ended up having a third child and now she is one and a half and no more kids on the horizon for us.”
Winning the trials won’t be an easy feat in both the men’s and women’s rankings.
Along with Wilson, former world tour surfer Josh Kerr and daughter Sierra will be competing along with established stars Sheldon Simkus and Macy Callaghan.
Add to that a stacked list of juniors including Burleigh’s very own sisters Isla and Mia, Huppatz, under-16 world champion Ziggy Mackenzie and more.
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Originally published as Julian Wilson on the cusp of World Surf League Championship Tour return at the Gold Coast Pro
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