Keala Kennelly: Surfer Overcomes Gruesome Injury To Win Sport’s Top Honor

Keala Kennelly had just finished chasing one of the world’s biggest waves in Teahupoo, Tahiti, in 2011 when she moved on to what seemed like a smaller challenge.

After turning in one of the best sessions ever by a woman in the infamous “Code Red” swells at Teahupoo, Kennelly was competing in a memorial heat for surfer Andy Irons when she was thrown from her board and thrown violently to the shallow reef below, cutting her face open.

Keala suffered a giant gash just below her eye with smaller lacerations along the length of her face. The wound was deep and embedded with coral. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors put her under and then closed the wound with 40 stitches.

The event was traumatic, but Keala Kennelly forged on with her career and this week took home the sports biggest honor, the Women’s Best Overall Performance at the Billabong XXL Awards.

Keala noted that it was her return to the scene of her gruesome injury that helped her career stay on track.

“Last year I won this award, cashed the check and three days later I was in Teahupoo for a big swell,” she said. “It was the first time I’d been back since my face injury there. To come back and overcome my fear and get the best wave was a huge personal triumph for me.”

The award also marks quite a comeback. Keala Kennelly said her injury had the severity of a car accident, and for months afterward she had to take powerful pain medications just to make it through the day.

Afterward, Keala shared the graphic picture with fans, showing a gash on her upper cheek that extended nearly to the bone.

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sorry if you were eating dinner. I look much better now I promise,” said the Hawaiian on her Facebook page.

If Keala Kennelly ever decides to hang up the surfboard, she could have another career to fall back on. She was pursuing work as a DJ, playing shows in Spain, Brazil, France, Australia, the UK, South Africa, and across several cities in the United States, including opening for Snoop Dogg in Las Vegas.