Ramzi Boukhiam suffers 'major' knee injury at Bells Beach while leaving the water after his heat

Australia Broadcast Center

22-04-2025

A freak accident at Bells Beach has forced Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam out of the Rip Curl Pro with a serious knee injury.
Boukhiam did not surf his elimination-round heat on Tuesday afternoon after the accident, putting him out of the competition.
He went to hospital for scans using crutches and with his left knee in a brace.
The 31-year-old had finished his opening-round heat earlier on Tuesday and was nearly on the beach when his foot was apparently caught in the reef close to the shoreline.
Footage showed Boukhiam then hit by a wave and he collapsed on to his board in agony.
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Brazilian Italo Ferreira and Australian Xavier Huxtable, who had competed in the same heat, immediately came to his aid and helped him out of the water.
"He'd just finished the wave and was waiting for the score — I saw him walking and then he went into the rock," Ferreira told the event broadcast.
"The other wave came at the back and hit him … [he said] 'I'm gone, I'm gone' — something happened and I started to run.
"It was a bummer, because he was surfing good on this wave, but best luck to him."
Ramzi Boukhiam thanked his competitors for rushing to his aid and helping him out of the water.
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Getty Images: Ed Sloane/World Surf League
)
Ferreira won the hard-fought heat and Huxtable narrowly finished ahead of Boukhiam, putting the Moroccan into the elimination round.
Boukhiam thanked his competitors for helping out of the water, saying their support meant a lot.
"Life doesn't always make sense and right now, it's really tough to accept what happened," he wrote on Instagram.
"Getting a major injury — again — and during a contest I felt so ready for, just breaks me.
"With everything I've already been through, it honestly hits deep. But I truly believe everything happens for a reason.
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"Maybe this is part of a bigger path I can't see yet. I'm holding on to that thought, and doing my best to focus on healing, staying positive, and keeping my energy where it needs to be."
Also on Tuesday, Jordy Smith continued his strong form as
Smith won his round-one heat, with competition finally back on after three days of poor conditions.
The South African won the most recent World Surf League round in El Salvador, eight years after his previous event win at Bells Beach.
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Only the women's opening round and one heat of the men's first round were run when the event started on Good Friday, before conditions deteriorated.
Local trials winner Carly Shanahan was the only Australian competing in the two women's elimination-round heats, and she did not progress.
There have been no Australian eliminations so far in the men's draw.
When the event resumes, the men will have their round of 32 and the women are up to the round of 16.
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