Kelly Slater has had many, many competitive surfing victories.
With 11 world titles, and 56 Championship Tour wins, he is the winningest surfer ever. Not to mention he is both the oldest, and youngest, to ever become world champion.
But one victory stands out more than any of those others.
In 2020, one week before turning 50 years old, more than half the age of the majority of other competitors in the field, he won the Billabong Pipe Masters.
Looking back on that victory, and looking ahead to the upcoming Lexus Pipe Pro (January 29th-February 10th) the WSL posted a throwback video to Slater’s road to victory at that event. Captioning the nostalgic visual ode, they wrote:
“After an epic week on Oahu’s North Shore, Kelly Slater won the Billabong Pro Pipeline. Beating Seth Moniz in a generational clash for the ages, Slater, who was a week away from turning 50 years old, started the 2022 Championship Tour with a huge, statement-making victory.
“Winning his first Championship Tour event at Pipe back in 1992, this marks 30 years since Slater first topped the podium. It’s the eighth win at Pipe for the 11-time World Champion. Slater’s last win at Pipe came in 2013. His last CT win came at the 2016 Billabong Pro Tahiti.”
After the win, and his ceremonial champagne-soaked chair up the beach, Slater got emotional:
“I don’t even know what to say,” Slater managed through tears. “I’ve dedicated my life to this, to all of this. All the heartbreak, all the winning, and all this crap. I’ve hated lots of it. But I just savor [moments like this.] And it’s the best one of my life.”
This year, Slater will be on the brink of turning 52 years old heading into the Lexus Pipe Pro. Could he pull off the impossible and do it again?
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