Evergreen surfing legend Kelly Slater has won his eighth Pipeline Pro, astonishingly 30 years after his first.
Slater became the oldest surfer to ever win the event, achieving it just six days shy of his 50th birthday. He first won at Pipeline in 1992, but this is his first victory at the break in nine years, and his first win on the WSL Tour in six years.
He beat Seth Moniz, 24, in the final this morning.
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The veteran American scored a 9.00 with his first wave in the final, and scored a two-wave total of 18.77 to cement the historic victory.
“I said just stay in the moment, just soak it up, even if he beats you, just love it all,” Slater said after the win.
“I committed my life to this. To all of this. To all of the heartbreak and winning and all this crap, you know, I’ve hated lots of it, but I savour this and this is the best win of my life.”
Slater hinted at retiring from professional surfing.
“This may be it for me, I’m going to have to have a talk with myself,” he said.
He’s known as the GOAT (greatest of all time) of surfing, but Australians aren’t likely to see Slater on the shores Down Under any time soon.
The Australian government recently confirmed he will not be allowed into the country unless he gets vaccinated against COVID-19, which he has previously spoken out against.
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