Achieving perfection in sports is a pretty bloody tough ask even at the best of times. Getting there twice is nothing short of phenomenal. But managing to do it three times? Yeah, you’re pretty much the GOAT.
44-year-old Kelly Slater etched his name in the annals of pro-surfing history again at the WSL Billabong Pro event in Tahiti, registering the ninth-ever perfect heat in the history of the sport in the fifth round of the tournament.
Slater, competing against fellow American Keanu Asing, notched a pair of perfect waves to register the mythical score of 20.00 for the heat in absolutely perfect surf conditions.
The remarkable thing is that, of the nine perfect heats in surfing history, Slater now owns three of them. And this isn’t even his first perfect heat in Tahiti.
Of the nine perfect heats in pro-surfing history, Slater now owns three. That’s mind-boggling. This latest brush with perfection follows on from previous efforts at the 2013 Volcom Pro in Fiji, and the 2005 Billabong Pro event once again in Tahiti.
Slater’s ridiculous form at the event carried through the remaining rounds, with one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen taking out the final of the tournament mere moments ago, steamrolling over American upstart John John Florence with another mammoth score of 19.67.
Make no mistake about it, at 44-years-old, Slater is still the benchmark. Everyone else is just chasing his wake.
Source: YouTube.
Photo: Romain Perrocheau/Getty.
