Detailed allegations of abuse - "He wouldn't let me go when he wasn't done with me yet"

Last Sunday, the World Surf League (WSL) announced that a professional surfer had been suspended following "allegations of a serious nature": "The allegations relate to behavior in connection with a private event in Tahiti in August. This event was unrelated to the WSL."

The International Surfing Association later temporarily suspended the athlete, writing in a statement about “serious allegations of abuse.” A statement said: "This precautionary decision was made in the interest of the safety and well-being of the athletes and does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing." Personal details are not given. The suspended surfer has not yet commented.

Klapp writes: "Today I turned 23 and was woken up to the news that allegations of sexual assault on an underage girl had been made against him and other men. That's why I'm writing this post because it is my duty as a woman to make my story public. This victim and perhaps others deserve all the support they need. I want to make sure this is over once and for all because he has already been given a second chance that he doesn't deserve and proven that he is still rotten at heart is.” Klapp, who was born in Spain and grew up in the USA, became U16 world champion for Germany in 2019. She quit competitive surfing last year.

The accused mistreated her almost throughout the entire relationship. Klapp writes: "He often pinned me to the bed, grabbed my wrists with all his strength, he sexually abused me many times, he called me a slut, an attention-seeking whore, he locked the door to our room and wouldn't let me leave unless he was finished with me, I fled from him many times; a particularly vivid memory is of him yanking the collar of my sweater so hard that I heard him tearing at my neck and I fell to the floor fell, whereupon he dragged me back into the room where I had no one to ask for help... I regret ever knowing him, because I have been processing the harm he did to me for a long time, and the things I endured haunt me in my sleep."

“Toxic groups of men”

"Why haven't I said anything until now? Damn, I wish I had, and part of me feels guilty about it, but back then the only thing that would have been more painful for me than carrying around this trauma would have been to finally tell the truth and not be believed." Then she addresses a structural problem in the scene: "Seeing how the surfing industry put this man on a pedestal after our relationship: 'What a cool guy! CT surfer!! Olympian!! Always the life of every party!'' Maybe, but behind closed doors a rapist and abuser."

In her ten years as a competitive surfer, she has seen “toxic groups of men” convince each other that their behavior is okay, “and even pressure each other to behave that way.” She talks about “guys who sleep with women all over the world and have a girlfriend or kids at home.” A number of athletes expressed their support under the post - including world-famous surfers Kelly Slater and Bethany Hamilton.

In another Instagram post, Klapp thanked her followers, but emphasized: "At the same time, I am horrified by the number of women and girls who have privately confided in me their own stories of sexual abuse, harassment and mistreatment within the surfing community." She will publish more stories from victims throughout the week.