3 questions to Marcilio Browne

13/06/2023

Eliminated in the 1st round of the Fiji Surf Pro, Marcilio Browne, the reigning world champion in the wave discipline, is going out the back door after a botched competition and no chance of a comeback. Obviously very disappointed, he talks to Windsurfjournal.com about his premature elimination, which will no doubt have consequences for the annual rankings at the end of the year...

Windsurfjournal.com: After participating in the 1st event in Japan, what was your state of mind when you arrived in Fiji? What was your preparation, your goal, your ambitions?
Marcilio Browne: I was very happy and excited to go to Fiji, Cloudbreak is a dream spot and we all dreamed of competing there. My preparation was to try and sail as much Portack as possible, I trained at La Pérouse and Diamond Head as much as possible and also tuned up my equipment with this wave in mind. My goal, as always, was to try and do well, be on the right waves and enjoy the competition and hopefully, like everyone else, try and come home with a good result, which is what I was hoping for.

WJ: Getting knocked out in the first round must be difficult when you are the reigning world champion with a world title to defend... How did you take this defeat as the hours and days went by? And why did you quit the competition almost immediately?
MB: Getting knocked out in the first round is definitely hard and I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt or disappoint me. But that's what competitions are for, that's why winning feels so good when it happens. If you look around, it happens in all sports, surfing, tenis... There will always be highs and lows, I'm still a bit bummed for sure, but I'm focusing my energy on what's next, sailing every day and having fun with my family. And as for my early departure from Fiji, I left because there was no double elimination, I have young children at home so I wanted to come back, be with them and get away from the competition a bit.

WJ: What lessons do you draw from this competition, from a personal point of view, but also from the general way in which it took place?
MB: Well, I guess the lesson for me personally would be to try and pick my waves a bit better. I dont know, its hard to pin something down, sometimes its just not your day, not meant to be, I really believe that everything has its time. I went for it, had a big crash, but at least I have the peace of mind that I gave it my all. Next time I will go for it again and if I make it then great, if not then no. As for the general way it went, I think the organisers did the best they could. Organising an event out at Cloudbreak is incredibly difficult, so it wasn't perfect, but what event is? I think the main thing that windsurfing needs right now is to be shown to the world in top conditions alongside the events we have already had to show its diversity as a sport and I think this event was epic in that way and I am grateful that it happened. It was amazing to see an event in these conditions and I think we need more of these to take windsurfing to the next level as a sport, but also to keep events like Pozo which are incredible in a different way.