Jack Robinson forced into late board modification ahead of surfing finals after rival's protest
Australian surfer Jack Robinson has been forced to change the design of his surfboard for his upcoming semi final following a complaint from South Korean officials.
Robinson was scheduled to go head-to-head with Brazil's Gabriel Medina on Sunday morning (AEST) but a lack of swell has seen the heat postponed.
But when Robinson eventually takes to the surf, he will be sporting a few design tweaks to his board.
READ MORE: Eight magical days in, Australia is in reach of the unthinkable
READ MORE: More Aussie medals after tennis gold, pool DQ
READ MORE: Tiny nation wins 100m sprint after icon's mystery absence
Australia's Jack Robinson paddles out during the men's surfing competition at Paris 2024. Ben Thouard via Getty Images
In the days leading up to the Olympic surfing competition at Teahupo'o, Robinson shared a photo to his Instagram account displaying the surfboards he would use during the event.
These featured a red-rising sun design honouring Hawaiian surfing great Andy Irons, who notably surfed with a red sun design on the underside of his surfboard.
Irons died suddenly in 2010.
"2 days to go. Boards inspired by AI (Andy Irons)," the caption of Robinson's post read.
The post from July 24 has since been hidden.
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
However, the red and white rising sun design is considered offensive in parts of East Asia, where the configuration is associated with the military history of Japan, including during World War II.
"I saw his post, thinking, 'That board can't be used because [the] Olympics is a pure sports event'," South Korea's surf team manager Song Min told Reuters.
While Song acknowledged the link to Irons, he said, "But I do want to tell people that even if this design is chosen out of personal views, it can be embarrassing".
"This isn't about South Korea protesting but this is what invokes some people's scars so it should be banned for use despite freedom of expression."
A look at the underside of one of Jack Robinson's board featuring the red-rising sun design. Gregory Bull via AP
The Korean team subsequently raised their concerns with the Australian Olympic Committee, causing Robinson to paint over the design.
The underside of his board now features a red block that conceals underneath.
This is not the only case of controversy to rock the surfing action at Paris 2024 with Brazilian Joao Chianca allegedly instructed by Olympic officials to remove a depiction of the Christ The Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro from his surfboard.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Chianca claimed that he was forced to remove the design after being told, "Christ is a religious figure" and the "Games have strict rules and focus on total neutrality".
South African surfer Jordy Smith was also required to put duct tape over the logo of his surfing brand sponsor O'Neill.
Under International Olympic Committee rules, competitors are only permitted to have the logo of their surfboard manufacturer and their national flag featured on their board.
The semi finals and medal finals of the Olympic surfing competition are expected to be held on Tuesday — two days delayed — with Robinson fighting for a spot in the gold medal heat.
