DAYS BEFORE HIS 50TH, KELLY SLATER WINS HIS 8TH PIPELINE TITLE
On Day 3 of the Winter Olympics, America’s biggest victory might very well have come not on a frozen halfpipe in China, but in the warm waves of the Banzai Pipeline, thousands of miles away in Hawaii.
The win belonged to Kelly Slater, the surfing great who turns 50 this week. Slater defeated a rider less than half his age to capture  one of the sport’s iconic events, the Billabong Pro Pipeline near the renowned reef off of Oahu.
Eleven-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater of the United States prior to surfing in Heat 1 of the Quarterfinals at the Billabong Pro Pipeline on February 5, 2022 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. (Photo by Brent Bielmann/World Surf League)
Now that he’s on top – again – Slater is starting to consider retirement. Nothing official, of course. Just thinking about it. For advice on the matter, Slater messaged with his buddy, Tom Brady, for a back and forth from one athlete dubbed the GOAT, or Greatest of All Time, to another.
“It would be interesting if that happened in the same week,” Slater cracked in an interview Sunday (Saturday in Hawaii) with The Associated Press, on the possibility that he’d retire on the heels of Brady’s announcement. “We’ll see how that goes. I’m contemplating whether I stop now or really go full bore this whole year, which would be, in my eyes, really for the fans and saying goodbye to everybody after all the years of support they’ve given me.”
Seth Moniz of Hawaii and Eleven-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater of the United States after winning the Final at the Billabong Pro Pipeline on February 5, 2022 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. (Photo by Brent Bielmann/World Surf League)
To close out his latest victory, he beat Seth Moniz, a 24-year-old sensation from Hawaii. Slater goes way back with Moniz’s dad, Tony, whom he looked up to when he was up and coming. One of the most touching moments of this day came when Seth Moniz embraced Slater, who was tearing up in the aftermath of the win.
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“An honor to surf against him,” Moniz said.
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Only a few days earlier, it looked like Slater might be eliminated by pipeline favorite 22-year-old Barron Mamiya. There were a handful of seconds on the clock when Slater caught a magical wave to steal the heat and advance.
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That was a matter of his vast experience, combined with some timely good fortune, coming through.
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“I mean, I kind of think of it like a martial art – you don’t get worse as you get older, you get more experienced,” said Slater, who also happens to be a scratch golfer.
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This was the surfing equivalent of winning at Pebble Beach.
Kelly Slater of the United States surfs in Heat 1 of the Quarterfinals at the Billabong Pro Pipeline on February 5, 2022 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. (Photo by Tony Heff/World Surf League)
