13-Year-Old Stabbed In The Back By Fin At European Pipeline - Stab Mag

'Vacation Presented By Monster Energy' Drops 5pm on Thurs, March 30 (PT)

2163 Views
Here's Alejo, pre-gruesome back injury. Photo: Instagram

13-Year-Old Stabbed In The Back By Fin At European Pipeline

Alejo Valido…you good, bro?

elsewhere // Feb 16, 2023
Words by Stab
Reading Time: < 1 minutes

Trigger warning: there are some images below that are not for the faint of heart.

Alejo Valido is one of the most promising up-and-coming groms from Europe.

Raised amongst the heavy rock slabs of the Canary Islands and taken under wing by his Old Continent elders, we were introduced to Alejo last year by Leonardo Fioravanti. His surfing did not disappoint.

The rest of the world met Alejo last night, under very different circumstances, as he took to Instagram to post about the injuries he sustained last week surfing El Quemao — the European Pipeline, and one of the heaviest waves in the Atlantic — when his Futures Christian Bradley fin stabbed him straight in the sacrum, broke off of the base, and remained stuck almost at the base of his young spine.

“I had an accident surfing El Quemao, luckily the surgery went very well and I’m already walking,” Alejo posted to Instagram.

Following the injury, Alejo was brought to Jose Molina Orosa Hosptial in Lanzarote, before being flown to Gran Canaria the next day, where surgeons at Materno de Gran Canaria were able to successfully operate on him.

“Thank you to those who were at the foot of the beach, to the ambulance staff that moved me, to the Jose Molina Orosa Hospital, to the medical plane, to the team that operated on me at the Materno de Gran Canaria, and to the staff of the pediatric surgery department,” Alejo wrote.

The injury seemed brutal, but we’re thrilled to hear that Alejo will make a full recovery.

“In a couple months, I hope to be at war again,” he conlcuded.

Go get ’em, kid.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Rio Waida Has Been Surfing Onshore, Oversized Bells Alone

...and he might not go home all year.

Mar 29, 2023

18:19

John Florence Releases Long-Form Piece On The 243km Great Ocean Squiggle

Tourism Victoria going, ‘he just did our job for us’.

Mar 29, 2023

7:01

Japanese Rice Farmer Enjoys Frightening Sumatran West Bowls

Kaito Ohashi is on his best behavior.

Mar 28, 2023

Extended Cut: Luke + Eddie

"Now when you watch a regular surf meet its like grinding your teeth… when's the…

Mar 28, 2023

6:20

Diamond Tail = Diamond Hands?

We'll explain everything in the Rusty D-Min Joyride.

Mar 27, 2023

Behold Australia’s Nine & NZ’s Two Challenger Series Qualifiers*

May the Southern Cross smile upon you at Snapper.

Mar 27, 2023

An Unordinary Life Structured Around A Tidal Bore

Long Read: The life and times of Pete Beachy.

Mar 26, 2023

17:08

Watch: ‘Haiku’

Scenes From a Remote Reality, by Vans & Karina Rozunko

Mar 25, 2023

Sun Room: The Overnight Success Of A Young Surf Band

What's it like touring the world and living off of McDonald's?

Mar 25, 2023

How Surfers Get Paid, Episode 6

An instructional manual for the modern professional surfer

Mar 23, 2023

7:03

Caity Simmers — Extreme Competitive Surf Vlogger

Cool is chemical.

Mar 23, 2023

Globe Pulls Out Of The Apparel Game

…and, Taj Burrow and Dion Agius are now looking for new main sponsors.

Mar 22, 2023

Owen Wright Announces Retirement From Competitive And Heavy-Water Surfing

But will surf final CT event at Bells.

Mar 22, 2023

29:05

Fancy An Ale, Some Good Music, And A Bunch Of Tubes?

Ballet's minimalist full-length will satiate your needs.

Mar 22, 2023

João Chianca Spent Seven Years On The QS Without A Sponsor

And look where he is now.

Mar 22, 2023

Take Stab’s 2023 Audience Survey, Win A 3-Board Quiver

Stab towels and Premium subscriptions also up or grabs.

Mar 21, 2023

Jessi Miley Dyer On The New Challenger Series Schedule And More

Did you know that you could miss the mid-year cut and still theoretically win the…

Mar 20, 2023

5:05

Don’t Miss The Last Wave Of The First 2023 SEOTY Entry

Jacob Willcox's ‘Into Dust’ just set the bar.

Mar 20, 2023
Advertisement