Ramzi Boukhiam Blows Knee on Bells Shorebreak After Buzzer, Screams “I’m Done”

The buzzer sounded. The wave ended. And Ramzi Boukhiam’s season may have, too.

It was the first round at Bells: Ramzi vs. Italo vs. local wildcard Xavier Huxtable. Low tide. Rising swell. Soupy, onshore burgers. After his final wave, Ramzi was scrambling back up the rocks waiting to hear scores, when a surge pushed in behind him.

It looked fairly pedestrian, but ended awkward. He got folded. Knee twisted. When he surfaced in the whitewash, he was screaming.

“He finished the wave and was waiting for the score,” said World #1 Italo Ferreira, who was first on the scene. “He was walking across the rock and the wave hit him from behind. The knee came to the inside and he felt something strong and was screaming, ‘I’m done, I’m done.’”

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WSL Head Honcho Jessi Miley-Dyer later gave a grim update: ‘He stepped into the reef and his legs got stuck as the wave broke behind him. The medical team is on it. Likely offsite scans are next.’

Based on his grimacing expression on the sand, it’s unlikely Ramzi will surf the elimination round, which is expected to run today. Currently ranked #27 — five spots below the mid-season cut — and with just two events left, the injury may have sealed his fate.

Injury has haunted Ramzi’s CT dream before. As a rookie, he blew his ankle at Backdoor before the season even started. That wildcard went to Carlos Munoz — who also missed his rookie season after injuring his shoulder at Pipe.

Surfing can be a cruel, circular joke.

Ramzi was granted a lifeline after Joao Chianca’s head injury at Pipe handed him the 2024 injury replacement slot. The first Moroccan ever to qualify for the CT finished his (unofficial rookie) season ranked #12, with Finals Day appearances in Portugal and Tahiti.

Our thoughts go out to Ramzi. More to come.

You can Paul Evans’ Stab Interview with Ramzi here.