What do you wish to do just a few days before you turn 50? As far as 11-time World Surf League winner Kelly Slater was concerned, it was an opportunity to show that age is just a number. Only days before he turned 50, Slater dropped into barrels the size of buildings and destroyed rivals, who are younger than him, to be the Billabong Pro Pipeline winner.
It was a historic event, a tribute to the past of surfing and a sneak peek at the future of the sport. There have long been rumors regarding Slater’s retirement, but his latest triumph would help him to stop those speculations. Slater may be a quinquagenarian but surfed like a 25-year-old on his way to a dominant win at the shore break of the Pipeline North Shore.
The win followed Slater’s triumph over Seth Moniz, who showed some fight and demonstrated that he is one to watch out for, particularly in giant waves. Ultimately, Slater claimed the trophy made by Phil Roberts and Gerry Lopez.
There are many mind-boggling statistics around Slater’s victory. It came three decades after Slater’s first win at the very same venue. It made Slater an 8-time world champion at Pipeline, which marked his 56th win on the whole.
Not many athletes in other sports could rival the long-term success of Slater, which is often overlooked as compared to conventional sports. Slater is already among the all-time greats of the surfing world.
An emotional Slater found it difficult to talk to the World Surf League after his victorious event. At a loss for words in the interview, Slater said that he was telling himself to focus on the present and not worry about the future, however much tension there was.
Slater described it as the best victory of his career as well as thought about the years of poundings that he has experienced at this special surfing location. Discussing how difficult his competitive surfing journey has been, Slater said that it was these kinds of moments that made the journey worthwhile for him.
There were more milestones from the women’s surfing finals on February 06, 2022, with much buzz before the event was considered the first World Championship Tour stop for women at the renowned Pipeline.
While 2-time WSL winner Tyler Wright got a high score, she could not gain a second surfing score. It allowed Moanalani Jones Wong from Hawaii to go through to the Billabong Pro Pipeline finals, where she will meet Carissa Moore.
At 22, Jones Wong had never participated in a world surfing tour event, and she got into this in the form of a wildcard surfer. Even so, she entered the finals to face Moore, an Olympic gold medal winner and a 5-time WSL winner.
Wong was among the few women surfers who charged the big waves often, and she has long been working hard at Pipeline. Wong is a native of North Shore. Her comfort and experience at the shore break were evident, particularly in the Billabong Pro Pipeline finals. She earned a higher score as compared to Moore.
After her triumphant performance, Wong said that she could not believe it and that she was baffled. She also described it as her life’s best moment. Wong never imagined that she would ever achieve it. There is even a new nickname for her: ‘Queen of Pipeline’.
There is a lot more surfing action to come this season. The waiting period for the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach will start in some days, a different wave with much power that will have the best surfers in the world in action.
They will go to Portugal this March as well as will participate in two surfing competitions in Australia later this year. A new WSL format in 2022 includes a cutoff in the middle of the season for male surfers and female surfers. For those on the WSL tour, the cutoff will lessen the field to 12 women and 24 men. The cutoff will apply before they go to Indonesia’s Plengkung Beach or G-Land, which will host the World Surf League for women for the first time.
In another first, in 2022, women surfers on the WSL tour will compete at identical locations, on identical stops and for identical amounts of money. It will all precede the WSL Finals, where the top five women and top five men surfers will fight it out at Lower Trestles. Several surfers regard Lower Trestles as the world’s best surfing spot.
