SLATER WINS 10th WORLD TITLE & PLACE IN HISTORY [08.11.2010]Surfers

Spray job. Image: ASP

Surfer Kelly Slater wins 10th ASP World Surfing Title

KELLY SLATER: 10X WORLD CHAMP, HOUSEHOLD NAME

It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a deep blue moon, an athlete comes along and dominates a sport to such a degree they create a legacy that transcends cultures, captivates the mainstream and etches their place among household names.

Household names such as Cricket’s Sir Donald Bradman, Basketball’s Michael Jordan and Tennis’ Roger Federer.

For the world of competitive surfing, Kelly Slater is such an athlete.

Incredibly, at 38 years old, the American has just clinched his 10th Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title.

Like Bradman’s staggering batting average of 99.94, Slater’s record of now 10 World Titles is one that will seemingly never be surpassed.

The only surfer to have come remotely close to such a feat was Australian Mark Richards, who won five world titles back in the 70’s and early 80’s, when the sport of surfing was but a drop in the ocean compared to the multi-billion dollar global industry it is today.

Slater clinched title number ten with a Quarterfinal victory at the second-last stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour - The Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico.
 
“The wave that did it for me was that first one in the Quarterfinals against Adriano (de Souza),” Slater said. “That was the heat I needed to win to get the Title, and after that first wave, I felt this wave of relief. I still had to win the heat, but I was so relaxed and everything just started going my way. I was in the best possible headspace I could have been in for the rest of the day. This is a dream.”

In true Slater style, just two hours after sealing this historic tenth title, the maestro would go on to take out the Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico - including scoring a perfect 10 in the final. It’s Slater’s 45th tour victory.

In celebration Slater reflected on the sudden passing of his great rival Andy Irons: “I just want to send my condolences to Irons family. It’s been a week of extremes for me. If it wasn’t for Andy (Irons) there is no way I’d be here in this position right now. I don’t really know what else to say, I’m a little overwhelmed right now. I want to dedicate this to Andy and to my family.”

“I had the 3rd at Teahupoo and Jordy got the 17th, at the time I really wanted to win that event and pull into the lead, but having Andy (Irons) win that contest was really special,” Slater said. “I surfed a last heat with him this year and to get past everybody at Trestles, I know the level is pretty much going through the roof every year. The stuff that Dane (Reynolds) and Jordy (Smith) pull off at every event, everyone is trying to catch on and their strike rate is so high, their consistency is so high. When I got into the lead after Trestles, I didn’t really feel that confident going into France. It was a wave-catching contest at first, but then it got big and I thought ‘this is my zone, this is where I do well and this is what I love.’ The points all started coming together just right for me. To get past Jordy (Smith) in the Final in Portugal, I knew something special was happening.”

“I decided to go for 10 (ASP World Titles) when a friend asked me if I’d decided to win 10 yet after a few contests into this year,” Slater said. “I told him ‘yeah, okay.’ That was right before Brazil. At that point I knew I could do it, but Taj (Burrow) looked good to start the year, but to me it looked like Jordy (Smith) was the guy early on. Mick (Fanning) had a lot of ninths and he knows he’s not going to win a title with ninths. Besides Jordy’s 17th, his worst result was the Quarters, so I knew there was no room for error. These last five events have really come together. I don’t really know how it came together the way it did.”

Slater's 2010 ASP World Tour campaign:
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast: Equal 9th
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: WIN
Billabong Santa Catarina Pro: Runner-UP
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay: Equal 17th
Billabong Pro Tahiti: Equal 3rd
Hurley Pro at Trestles: WIN
Quiksilver Pro France: Runner-Up
Rip Curl Pro Portugal: WIN
Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico: WIN
Billabong Pipeline Masters: TBD

While there’s perhaps an air of finality about this, Slater’s 20th year on the ASP World Tour, at 38, the man who can have opponents beaten with his mere presence shows little signs of slowing down.

As the sport of competitive surfing continues to progress above the lip via a new breed of young aerial surfers, Slater has evolved and remained at the forefront. The 360 Alley-oop he pulled off at this year’s Rip Curl Pro in Portugal is among the best aerials seen during 2010's ASP season.

If there was a picture of surfing in the Webster's Dictionary - it would have to be of Kelly Slater. He is, quite simply, the greatest person to ever wax up a surfboard.

- micholas



RIP CURL PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.77
2 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.43

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.34 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.87
SF 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.87 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 10.36

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.50 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 14.17
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.87 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.36
QF 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.50 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.10
QF 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.97 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.47

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH PUERTO RICO ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.70 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.40
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.77 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 6.50
Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.20 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 9.73
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.34 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 7.37


CURRENT ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Puerto Rico)
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 66250 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 52250 pts
3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 44750 pts
4. Taj Burrow (AUS) 40000 pts
5. Dane Reynolds (USA) 37250 pts

Share this:

Share

User Comments

• PREMIERE OF JULIAN WILSON'S SCRATCHING THE SURFACE [10.Sep.2010]

  

  EVENT | Last night Red Bull, Quiksilver and VAS Entertainment hosted the Australian premiere of Julian Wilson’s long awaited profile movie, Scratching the Surface. Held in Sydney’s Sun Studios, the premiere, from an event point of view, was nothing short of epic; Red carpet, DJ’s, attractive women, celebrities, plus a constant flow of nibblies, Coopers and Red Bull fused booze….. oh yeah.. and one...

• SURF PHOTOS | THE WEEK THAT WAS JULY #1 [28.Jun.2010]

  

  SURF PHOTOS | While not the most epic week of surf we've seen, there were some waves on offer about the place. The photog crew snapped up a few gems along the way, and here we're displaying the top 10 shots that rolled through this week...

• RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH 2011 - ROUND 1 [20.Apr.2011]

  

  RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH 2011 - ROUND 1 - 10-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) was all business in Round 1 of the 50th annual Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, as competition got underway this morning in pumping 4-6 foot conditions.