How champion surfer went from ‘inoperable’ brain tumour to Olympic glory leading France
Jeremy Flores was diagnosed with a brain tumour in his early 30s. Many surgeons considered it inoperable. Yet Olympic glory was to follow
Jeremy Flores faced numerous challenges in the water as he carved himself a hugely successful surfing career, but nothing prepared the Frenchman for the tumultuous months that followed his retirement in 2021.
Within months of stepping away from competition, Flores, the most successful male European in surfing history, was diagnosed with a brain tumour that turned his life upside down.
He survived to tell the tale, after years of silence, in a new documentary, Dos au Mur (“Backs to the Wall”), which premiered in Paris on June 4.
“I told myself it was time to talk about it,” he says. “I needed to get it off my chest, to send a message to my children and others who might need it. This was clearly the hardest ordeal of my life.”
Flores was born in Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean that is a paradise for surfers – in spite of the large number of sharks.
His father, Patrick, coached him from the age of three and he duly became one of the best in the world, competing for 15 years on the professional circuit, winning four prestigious championship tour events.