All photos: WSL-Dunbar-Smith

“There are so many people studying and worrying about longevity that I think it won’t be strange to see someone 50 years old participating in a professional tournament,” said Kelly Slater yesterday at a press conference after winning his series at the Sydney Pro against Vicente Romero (second), Victor Bernardo (third) and Ramzi Boukhiam (fourth).

The 11-time world champion noted that he does not feel the passage of time: “It is a little disconcerting, I still feel the same talent that I always had, if I am not injured, I still feel that I can have my best surfing ahead of me, in my late forties and fifties.”

He added: “It’s funny because my inner voice doesn’t talk about my age, I don’t think about how I should or shouldn’t surf. But I hear a lot of people saying, ‘God, I’m five years younger than you and I haven’t surfed for years and you inspired me to get back in the water and I realized I needed to stay in shape. ’”

 

Asked about the new generations and their role, the best in history said that he feels like a “gatekeeper” or a “doorman” of the tour. He gave an example by dedicating a message to the young people: “You should beat me and I am beating you. Put your things in order (laughs)!”

He also explained that he sees a lot of “excitement” around the Olympics and the desire to get to them. He highlighted the country changes of many surfers now “saying they surf in Costa Rica, Germany or Ireland; they are all looking for their roots around the world.” And he joked: “I was wondering if I could surf in Syria or Ireland.”

Slater's presence made an event with 20-centimeter waves very interesting and desired for 25 minutes with thousands of people appearing from all sides to see the great champion.

Kelly himself said he wasn't ready for that, "it was a little nerve-racking," he explained. Several people took photos, asked for autographs and approached to touch the champion.

In the heat Slater surfed very, very well, he made no mistakes, he found the waves and showed all his class. In round 3 he will face Alex Ribeiro, Jessé Mendes and Charly Quivront.