Getty Image / Sean M. Haffey/iStockphoto/haumaru
Greatest competitive surfer of all time, Kelly Slater, at Teahupo'o in Tahiti
Kelly Slater stepped away from professional surfing full-time back in 2024. Flash forward two years and the 54-year-old has proven once again that he is 1-of-1.
The 54-year-old Slater secured a wild card spot at the 2026 Outerknown Tahiti Pro held at Teahupo’o, one of the biggest stops on the WSL’s Championship Tour. There was some controversy within the surfing community over why Kelly Slater, at 54-years-old, deserved the entry through sponsorships and past results when up-and-coming surfers could use it to elevate their profile but Kelly Slater put all of that debate to rest when he took down Gabriel Medina.
54-Year-Old Kelly Slater Out Duels Gabriel Medina At Teahupo’o
The two previously faced off at Teahupo’o in the 2014 final. Back then, Medina got the best of Slater and went on to win the Championship Tour that season, his first of three WSL World Champion titles.
They had other battles throughout the years but to face off 12 years later, with Kelly Slater functionally retired and in the competition with a sponsor’s ‘wild card’ exemption, and taking down the 32-year-old Brazilian was nothing short of incredible.
Slater captured lightning in a bottle to get it done too. Kelly’s heat started incredibly slow with scores of 1.00, 0.23, 7.00, 0.20, but then he caught FIRE and finished with scores of 9.73 and 9.33 for a cumulative score of 19.06. There was nothing Gabriel Medina could do to catch the greatest competitive surfer of all time. Medina recorded scores of 6.50, 0.50, 4.83, 7.67, and 8.43 for a cumulative score of 16.10. Here is a replay of the epic Round 2, Heat 13 between Kelly Slater and Gabriel Medina:
Unfortunately for Gabriel Medina, that 16.10 score would have won in 12 other heats throughout the competition but Kelly Slater was surfing like he was 30 years younger and out for glory.
On Top Of The World Again
After his ‘W’ against Medina, Kelly Slater talked about the heat and what it was like out there. He doesn’t look a day over 40!
This was the 11th time Slater and Medina have gone head to head and prior to this Gabriel held a strong lead, beating Kelly in 8 of the 11 times they’ve faced one another. The last time Kelly Slater took down Gabriel Medina head-to-head was in 2015 at the J-Bay Open in Heat 3 when Kelly won 18.10 to 17.23. Their lifetime average scores against one another are 13.83 for Slater and 15.23 for Medina.
Slater will now face Australian surfer Jack Robinson in Round 3, Heat 7. The tournament will resume at 7am Tahitian time if the conditions are right. They are 2-and-2 against one another with Robinson winning the two most recent matchups, in 2023 and 2022, both times at J-Bay.
And shout out to reader Jace for putting this on my radar and reminding me to stream the live action this morning!