by Justin Housman

On Sunday, Italy's Leonardo Fioravanti, 17 years old, captured the ISA World Games U-18 Championship at the Oceanside pier. This was an astonishing feat, and not because Fioravanti is from Italy—he's been one of the best young surfers on the planet for a few years now. Fioravanti's win was surprising because he's only eight months removed from breaking his back in a devastating wipeout at Pipeline last February. I spoke to Leo after his ISA win and found out how he whipped himself back into fighting shape.

Is this the biggest win in your young competitive career so far?

Yeah, for sure. Last year I won a 3-star WQS event (the 2014 Pantin Classic), but this win gave me an actual title. I'm the U-18 ISA World Champion, which is huge for me and for Italy. I'm the first Italian Junior World Champion.

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Source: http://www.surfermag.com/