Surfing-Wildcard Kelly Slater Stars as Tahiti Pro Kicks Off in Unruly Surf
Slater posted a 16.23 heat total and earned a second-round matchup with Gabriel Medina as big swells and strong winds rattled the field.
- On Saturday, 11-time world champion Kelly Slater dominated the Tahiti Pro opener, securing the highest heat total of the first day in huge, wild waves.
- Teahupo'o, which translates as "wall of skulls," hosted the 2024 Paris Olympics surfing event and is considered one of the world's most perfect waves. Saturday's conditions were far from perfect, with big unruly swells and strong cross-shore winds.
- Slater scored a 16.23 total out of 20, including a near-perfect 9 and a 7.23, defeating Hawaii's Eli Hanneman, whose "highlight" was a terrifying wipeout leaving his board impaled with coral.
- The 54-year-old advanced to the second round to face Brazil's three-times world champion Gabriel Medina in a mouth-watering match-up between two seasoned competitors.
- Local Tahitian Kauli Vaast, who won Olympic gold here in 2024, also impressed before officials called off the competition due to intensifying conditions expected in coming days.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Kelly Slater wins Gabriel Medina in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, with two excellent notes and eliminates the Brazilian in the seventh stage of the WSL World Circuit.
Kelly Slater comes out of retirement to score big in Teahupo’o Tahiti Pro
Surfing’s 11-time world champion Kelly Slater showed he still has what it takes to foot it with the best at the Tahiti Pro on Saturday, scoring the highest heat total of the first day in huge and wild waves.The 54-year-old, who retired from full-time competition in 2024, clocked up an excellent two
Wildcard Kelly Slater stars as surfing's Tahiti Pro kicks of in unruly ...
Wildcard Kelly Slater stars as Tahiti Pro kicks off in unruly surf
Aug 8 - Surfing's 11-times world champion Kelly Slater showed he still has what it takes to foot it with the best at the Tahiti Pro on Saturday, scoring the highest heat total of the first day in huge and wild waves. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Surfing-Slater marches on in Tahiti Pro as Teahupo’o pumps
Aug 10 : Kelly Slater advanced to the third round of the Tahiti Pro on Monday after the 54-year-old American overcame Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and some heavy wipeouts at the 2024 Paris Olympics venue of Teahupo’o. Slater, who recently underwent hip surgery, retired from full-time competition in 2024 and welcomed a third child earlier this year but showed he had lost none of his competitive edge against three-times world champion Medina. In danger…
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