This is right up there with the worst surfing wipeouts we’ve ever seen.
Nominated for the World Surfing League Wipeout of the Year, Andrew Cotton gets crushed by the massive lip and goes flying. As stated by WSL:
Andrew Cotton (Braunton, North Devon, United Kingdom) carves into a huge peak only to have the lip come down and send him into orbit at Nazaré, Portugal on November 8, 2017. Video by Kleber Pires.
Cotton made it to shore and survived with a broken back. According to a post on Instagram, his back broke in the wipeout.
“I have broken my back, but I’ve been really lucky,” he wrote. “I’m already looking forward and focusing my energy to get fit and back out there on some more big rollers!”
We’d hate to see the fall that beats this one as wipeout of the year! Learn more at the 2018 WSL Big Wave Awards.
