Kelly Slater has been mulling over the day of his retirement as a professional for a long time, but that day has been reluctant to arrive. The most successful competitive surfer in history, with 11 world titles and 56 victories on the World Surf League (WSL) circuit, has repeatedly hinted at his final farewell, most recently last April. Many considered his tears and emotion from Australia, when he failed to make the mid-season cut in the competition, to be conclusive, but the announcement never left his lips. It was not the end yet.
On Wednesday, in one of his favourite corners of the planet, the idyllic Fiji Islands – located in Oceania – and on his perfect Cloudbreak wave – on the island of Tavarua – Slater was splashing frustrated in the turquoise water, excited as if he were still that teenager who burst onto the surfing scene at 18 years old and transformed it forever. Now, at 52, with three decades of competition under his belt, he had just been eliminated from his favourite event, where he was able to participate thanks to an invitation from the organisers. “It was a great wave. It broke my heart to see it; it should have been mine,” he lamented, again with glassy eyes, referring to the 9.33 that the Brazilian Yago Dora, aged 28, executed perfectly.
“Overall, it was a very frustrating day, and it will probably be the last heat I will compete here. I have a million good memories, and Tavarua has been like family to me. Thank you so much, guys, I love you!” he said, again without explicitly using the dreaded word. Slater won his first world title at the age of 20, in 1992. He then became a real mass phenomenon, especially because he combined his sporting activity with the entertainment industry. The American was one of the main actors of ‘Baywatch’ in the third and fourth seasons of the series, also starring in a brief relationship with Pamela Anderson. In short, his figure did for surfing what Michael Jordan did for basketball.
Like the NBA legend, he began his career after a brief retirement in 1998, when he had just won five consecutive world titles. He returned to win another five between 2005 and 2011, achieving unprecedented longevity milestones in the discipline in recent years. In 2022, days before turning 50, he won the Pipe Masters in Hawaii for the eighth time in his career. He also thought then that this would be his last triumphant dance as a competitor. “It’s true that I said that if I won this event I was going to step aside and retire right now… but I also told myself that I was going to surf one more year on the circuit to say goodbye to everyone who has been with me all this time,” he reflected after his resounding triumph.
In fact, since 2016 he threatened to retire on four more occasions. The itch for a twelfth title and the novelty of the Olympic Games, however, encouraged Slater to continue rowing alongside the best in the world. The goal of fighting for gold was in his head, but injuries did him no favours and prevented him from being able to seriously compete to access Tokyo 2020, more of the same in Paris 2024. Not being in Teahupo’o, another wave of his liking, was another notable disappointment for a guy used to achieving all his goals.
The new disappointment on the wave of his dreams, which he visited for the first time in 1990, may once again prolong his plans for an eternal retirement at this point. “It’s an incredible life, full of memories. A lot of emotion for a long time, absolute dedication, and not everything is roses, you know? But they have been the best moments of my life,” he murmured in April, from the wave. aussie Margaret River. “I feel like this is the start of something different, the start of the rest of my life,” he added. It’s August and Slater remains uncertain. Have we seen his last wave or is there another one on the horizon? Even he doesn’t seem to be sure.
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