Ranked third in the world, Kelly Slater turns 49 today, one year shy of his half-century, and even though he has wavered with the idea of ​​leaving, there is nothing to indicate that he will leave.

The last thing he said about his retirement was that he wanted to do a full world tour and dedicate himself to it at a good level. When he was doing that, just finding his rhythm, Kelly injured his foot in 2017. In 2018 he barely appeared and in 2019, motivated by Tokyo 2020, he got the taste but was left wanting.

He said he would return in 2020 but then the pandemic came.

The truth is that throughout this time, the Cocoa Beach, Florida, local has been displaying some of the best surfing in the world. Slater's sessions at Haleiwa are on par with any of the new talents: Seth Moniz, Jack Robinson, Griffin Colapinto... all at least 25 years younger than Kelly.

And what about Pipe? He comes from being third in the Pipe Masters, from beating Jordy Smith, Robinson himself, Ethan Ewing, Wade Carmichael, Connor O'Leary on the queen of waves.

What can we say about his performance at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games? On small waves in Japan, landing aerials like Kolohe and finishing the event in fifth place, having faced angry youngsters from all over the world who definitely wanted to beat the best.

Even though it doesn't seem to be his real goal, Slater faces this erratic 2021 season with a real chance of becoming world champion. If you think about it, a different Kelly than before, who won alone, inventing the waves, on the right day can beat anyone. And if that happens to him two or three times, with a couple of acceptable back-ups, he becomes a champion.

The question is, how many human beings in history fight for a world title in a high-performance sport at 49 years old? I can think of very few. Federer, for example, is 39. Golf is a bad comparison and there's no need to explain why, but as long as we're on the subject, Tiger Woods is 45 years old.

Formula 1 is also a bad comparison, but while we're at it, Lews Hamilton is 35.

Motorcycling is also a bad comparison, but as long as we're on the subject, Valentino Rossi is 41 years old.

It is very difficult to find an athlete who can compare with Slater. A good comparison is the 100 metres. And Usain Bolt, now retired, is 34… Or a football player, and Gianluigi Buffon, who is still active and won a World Cup*, is 43.

With 11 world titles under his belt, 55 CT wins including several Pipe Masters, plus triple Hawaiian crowns and an Eddie Aikau, Kelly is the greatest athlete in history.

Slater turns 49 today. Nobody's birthday is ever referenced in this outlet. But Kelly is Kelly.

And it has been said more than once: Whoever is reading this at the time of publication, feel lucky, you are a contemporary of the best athlete in history.

*This article has been updated: It was written that Buffon had no world titles; that was a mistake, he won the World Cup in 2006. To everyone, my apologies.