What a legend......Apparently he is retiring from the tour full-time and will just do select events form here on in. I will miss him.




THE curtain will be drawn on one of the greatest careers in the history of professional sport when Kelly Slater announces his retirement from full-time competition after the Pipeline Masters.

The American is locked in a three-way battle with the Australian duo of Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning for the world title at surfing's ultimate proving ground in Hawaii from December 8.

Win or lose, the 11-times champion has already decided against launching a full-scale tilt at next year's race.

The king is not dead - he is killing himself off. Turning 41 in February, he will compete only in the cream of the contests on tour. One of them will be the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast in March because the company is his major sponsor. Tahiti, Fiji and Hawaii are certain destinations. Bells Beach at Easter is a 50-50 chance.

Slater let the cat out of the bag during the recent Rip Curl Pro in Portugal. Bowing to the prowess of a new generation that includes Hawaii's John John Florence, Australia's Julian Wilson and Brazil's Gabriel Medina, Slater said: "I'm glad I only have to compete against these guys for three more events."

One to go. And it will be a grandstand finish. Parkinson leads the ratings. Slater is breathing down his neck. The race is so close that it basically comes down to the highest finisher between Slater and Parkinson receiving the crown. Fanning is a long shot. He needs to win at Pipe and have Parkinson and Slater lose early.

"It was a huge opportunity lost for Joel," Slater said after Parkinson's shock defeat to South African Travis Logie in the quarter-finals of the O'Neill Coldwater Classic in California last month. There is mutual respect between Parkinson and Slater, plus a whole lot of niggle.

The 31-year-old from the Gold Coast has been a supreme practitioner for more than a decade but Slater, the late Andy Irons and Fanning have conspired to deny him a world title. Reaching the summit in Hawaii would rank among the most emotional moments in the multi-layered story of Australian surfing. Parkinson is as popular as the day is long but Slater is the ultimate obstacle.

The Floridian is a scratch golfer fantasising about contesting the US PGA Seniors Tour when he reaches the eligibility age of 50. "I do think about it," he told The Australian at Pipeline last year. "Funnily enough, I just did an interview with the Golf Channel: they're doing a special for Christmas and the three golfers they followed were me, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. I'm pretty entrenched in the golf community now, even if it isn't at the competitive level yet. It's about the personal challenge for the moment but I would like to maybe compete in the future.

"There are these vague dreams in my head about it. All the time I spend at the beach now I'd have to spend on the golf course. To play those tour guys, even just one or two times, I'd have to be able to completely trust myself: trust my swing, not let any doubts get in my head. I'm not there yet. It would take a lot of dedication but I'm putting a lot of time into my golf. I think anyone, when they do something once, they want to become masterful at it."

A 20-year-old Slater was the youngest winner of a world title in 1992. He became the oldest at 39. "No one will ever do again what Kelly has done," Sydney's former world champion Tom Carroll said. Mark Richards, the four-times world No 1 from Newcastle, has called Slater the finest athlete of all time. Debate has always surrounded his place in the pantheon. For longevity and dominance, which athlete in any sport can surpass him? Whatever the truth about a 22-year career embroidered with records that will never be broken, it is nearly over.

Hope he comes to Bells again...seeing him surf in the flesh is mind blowing...I reckon he could probably win all 5 events if he does bells and take a title only surfing part time

sad sad day, will be good to try and see him one last time at the goldy :)

i agree he is an amazing amazing surfer in the flesh...

here is a photo i got of him at the quik pro in 2010

wicked shot!!!!!! Is that with yr Sigma 500mm lens? Nice and crisp.

Now is your time Ted

Amazing surfer. Best ever so far and hard to see anyone getting close to what he's accomplished.

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Ted the Kiwi said...
wicked shot!!!!!! Is that with yr Sigma 500mm lens? Nice and crisp.

actually that was back when i first got the camera and i got that shot with the 50-250mm kit lens haha

you must have thought you were a legend

Great shot. One of yr best for sure. I would love to get one like that. Makes it a lot better when you have a good subject as well.

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BigSpazz said...

Ted the Kiwi said...
wicked shot!!!!!! Is that with yr Sigma 500mm lens? Nice and crisp.

actually that was back when i first got the camera and i got that shot with the 50-250mm kit lens haha

I use a 200mm lens on my Nikon, you can get pretty good shots with cheap small lenses.
Quik Pro 2011