Kelly Slater already holds 11 world championships and is a seven-time Pipe Masters winner but the 47-year old isn’t done with his surfing dominance.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Billabong Pipe Masters on Hawaii’s North Shore takes place every December as the final event on the World Surf League’s Men’s Championship Tour. The spot is known for big waves that break in the shallow water of the reef below, making it fast and dangerous.
On Wednesday afternoon, Slater showed the world again why he’s considered surfing’s GOAT with a perfect 10-point ride at Backdoor. (If you swing right, the wave is called Backdoor, if you go left, it’s Pipe.)
Kelly Slater’s perfect 10 point ride at Pipe just minutes before he was set to be eliminated from Olympic contention. 🤯pic.twitter.com/U1Gu465zum
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) December 11, 2019
Slater drops into the wave perfectly, spending so much time inside the barrel as section after section of whitewater keeps falling down before making a clean exit still on his board. Slater’s timing also couldn’t have been better. He was trailing Frenchman Joan Duru with his hopes of remaining in Olympic contention fading, when, with only 10 minutes left to spare, he scored his perfect wave.
It’s the kind of next level surfing that people have come to expect from Slater who has a history of shining at this particular wave. It’s one of his favorites, and one of the most difficult waves in the world to surf.
“It’s best the wave I’ve had out here in the past few years here,” Slater said after his ride.
After decades of dominance in the world of surfing, Slater is still competing on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour among the best surfers in the world. Even though he’s out of contention for this year’s world championship title, is still chasing a spot on the first ever men’s Olympic surfing team and his chances hinge on his finish at Pipeline
For surfing, competitors will be decided by their rankings on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour. The top two finishers from each country will lock in spots for Tokyo in 2020. American Kolohe Andino from San Clemente has already locked in one spot for the men, but the second spot remains up for grabs and depends on the Pipe Masters results.
Currently, Slater has a chance if he finishes two spots above Hawaiian John John Florence, who was sidelined for much of the year with an ACL injury. Follow Hawaiian Seth Moniz also has a slim chance of making the team.
The window for Pipe Masters runs through December 20.