Kelly Slater’s longevity in surfing, and as a professional athlete in general, is undeniable. He’s the youngest World Champ in history and the oldest.
But, despite his decades-long dominance, there’s one trophy in surfing that Slater’s never won. And it’s one that he’d really like to snag for his mantlepiece before he officially takes off the jersey and retires: an Olympic medal.
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In a recent interview with Reuters, the 51-year-old talked about his Olympic dreams:
“My hopes are still up for it and it would be a real dream come true for me to make that happen,” Slater said.
“When I started, we didn’t have surfing in the Olympics, so it was never my ultimate goal. That it has presented itself, it just lines up so well for me for when I want to stop competing.
“It would be an almost perfect time for me to call it a day as far as full-time competition.”
Surfing made its debut in the Olympics at the 2021 Tokyo Games. And it’s slated to return next year with the 2024 Paris Games, although the surfing event will be held far away from the city of lights at Tahiti’s monster lefthand tube, Teahupo’o – a wave Slater has done very well at in the past. (Like, a perfect heat in 2016; see below.)
“I’ve obviously had a really good record at Teahupo’o,” he said. “It’s a wave that suits my strengths and I know the wave really well.”
But still, despite his history at the wave, Slater must qualify for the Olympics just like everyone else. And here’s where things get tricky, and slightly confusing. Each country gets two male and two female representatives. The top tier route for qualification is the end-of-year rankings on the World Surf League’s 2023 Championship Tour. Slater was axed from the Tour, courtesy of the Mid-Season Cut, back in April; then, days later, he was granted a wildcard for the remainder of the year.
So, there’s still hope for him to qualify via the CT – even though he sits low on the rankings, and well behind fellow countrymen who are currently poised to take the USA Olympic slots, like John John Florence and Griffin Colapinto.
But even if Slater doesn’t make the Paris 2024 Olympics, he hinted that his retirement is coming soon, like, “in the next year or two.”
And he’s not putting all his eggs into the Olympics basket for his competitive surfing dénouement:
“There’s a lot of good outs for me,” he said. “There’s no bad path.”
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