Well, the don't call him the GOAT for nothing!
Last night, we sat on the edge of our seats watching the Billabong Pro at Pipeline unravel.
The conditions appeared tricky, with huge shifting sets rolling in over dangerously shallow reef, winds that added bumps to the face of the waves and some big names who were willing to throw themselves off of huge ledges in search of numbers on the scoreboard.
Just 6 days before turning 50 years old, Kelly Slater, 11 times world champion, claimed his 8th Pipeline title in typical Slater fashion in Hawaii against up and coming surfer and charger, Seth Moniz.
Before the final, Seth Moniz embraced Kelly and appeared grateful for this amazing opportunity to be surfing such an incredible wave with his hero, saying:
'I want you to push me out there'
The two battled it out in the final, taking huge drops and putting everything on the line.
For anyone watching the award ceremony, it was difficult to hold back the tears as Kelly opened up to us about how much this win meant to him and how his previous relationship with Andy Irons had made him the surfer he is today.
“I was out there telling myself just be in the moment. No matter how much tension there is. Just breathe.”
“I committed my life to this you know. To all of this. The heartbreak. All the winning. All this crap. I’ve hated lots of it. But I just savour these moments and this is the best win of my life.”
“I don’t even know how to explain this moment. It’s like so spiritual for me.”
Kelly has not made a decision if he will be continuing with the rest of the WSL tour:
" 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."
Either way, we will always love Kelly Slater and now nearly 50 years old and still winning contests against the best in the world, he is a true inspiration and pure legend.
Seth & Kelly - Billabong Pro Pipeline February 5, 2022 in Haleiwa, Hawaii (Photo by Brent Bielmann/World Surf League)
Hopefully we will get to watch the women's semi finals and finals today at the Billabong Pro at pipeline, we are about to watch history in the making... Watch this space.