End of An Era? Kelly Slater Contemplates Retirement
December 20, 2008
Kelly Slater recently won his record ninth surfing world championship, his sixth Billabong Pipeline Masters, and after coming out of retirement in 2002 Slater now finds himself contemplating his future once more.
From the New York Times:
Right now would be a great time to retire and just watch from the sidelines. A great way to go out. It really is that way for me. I get two, three days before a contest, and I question whether I really want to do it.
The NYT article goes into some detail about Kelly’s career, including his recent Billabong Pipeline Masters title, then discusses the sport of surfing and what it would be like without it’s winningest supporter. They say that surfing in the U.S. would not be the same without Kelly Slater in the mix. They also suggest that the sport’s profile would go down a notch if Slater decided to finally hang up the board. Their comparison runs the way that many felt Lance Armstrong’s retirement would be to the sport of cycling. A couple of years out, we can see now what cycling was like without Lance Armstrong, and what it is now that he has decided to mount a comeback.
Kelly Slater hasn’t thrown in the towel yet, but he does say that he will participate in the 2009 Australian event, then evaluate how he feels. It does leave one to wonder, though, when Slater ends the article with a comment like:
I thought for a long time that I felt my best surfing was ahead of me,” Slater said. “I still feel like my best surfing is ahead of me. And now I’ve got some experience in contests obviously.
I would think that the above quote would suggest that Kelly Slater isn’t quite done making his mark on surfing. If his best is still to come, I would hate to think that he would walk away. It isn’t out of the question though. Seven-time women’s world champion Layne Beachley recently decided to cut back her schedule to only a couple of surfing events a year. let’s hope that Kelly Slater sticks around for awhile longer. Up to this point, he doesn’t have anyone breathing down his neck to take over his domminating presence. That can’t be said for Beachley, who has acknowledged that Carrissa Moore is the future of the sport that she has dominated for the past 19 years.
Go read the Times article and watch the nice video talking about Layne Beachley and Carrissa Moore. Is it over for Slater? What are your thoughts?
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under surfing |
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