Johanne Defay returns to the WSL tour in second place after competing at the Olympics

Johanne Defay talks about her Olympic experience, continuing the WSL tour, and what her offseason plans are.

Johanne Defay is fresh off her first Olympic appearance and is already back in the water. Defay has left Tokyo and traveled straight to Mexico to compete in the World Surf League’s Corona Open Mexico event. This event is a stop on the championship tour and is crucial for surfers competing for the world title to gain points to make the finals. Defay is currently ranked second in the points standings and is hoping to clinch a final spot but this location could be tricky.

The WSL CT has not held an event in Barra de la Cruz since 2006 so it can be unfamiliar to the athletes. Defay spoke to FanSided about this Mexican event, her Olympic appearance, and more.

“I’ve watched some videos for sure before getting to the area and getting to the waves,” Defay said of getting ready for Barra de la Cruz. “I came like four or five days before I’ve been surfing every day and just mentally prepared. I was preparing myself to be in a new country and just having no clue really where I was going and stuff I was like kind of ready for that. So it’s just a mindset you need to have.”

Defay went to the Tokyo Olympics as a member of the French team. She has a solid performance but didn’t walk away with a medal, what she did walk away with was an amazing experience and lessons learned.

“Getting to understand and experience the whole Olympics things where there are so much more rules than what we have in the tour pro it’s just like, so much bigger than what we are used to so that that is a pretty crazy,” Defay explained. “Also the fact that this one time every four years it just makes the Olympics like very special and the athletes they just have it as a special place in their hearts. But at the same time, it made me appreciate how much we are a lucky sport to actually have a professional tour and to be able to compete every year and to go to those different places and stuff. So it was really made me realize what I have is very great. Also experiencing that different vibes and just the experience in itself was very great.”

Although Defay is right in the middle of her season, she already has plans for the offseason. Every year Defay hosts a women’s only getaway weekend called Women on Waves where they do yoga and surf. The time it takes to be at the highest level of your sport is tough on athletes, the time off is often much needed.

The Corona Open Mexico is going on right now and can be seen on the WSL app or on WSL on YouTube.