Sometimes few words are needed to describe what happened at a surf contest other than this: Kelly has done it again.
On the tropical island of Tahiti-iti, the incredibly beautiful and dangerous wave of Teahupoo came alive during the past 2 weeks. It was perfectly timed as the Billabong Pro Tahiti was held in the powerful left hand reef break, and saw the world’s very best surfers come together to surf the infamous wave and to remember last year’s winner: the late Andy Irons.
Whilst we were all making the most of our
surf holidays, Tahiti was experiencing some of the best conditions every seen at the contest at Teahupoo. Event winner Kelly Slater (USA) showed the world that he is only getting better with age by winning the event for the fourth time in 11 years. The win brings his win total to an unprecedented 47 elite tour events, and begs the question of whether he will try for what would be an eleventh world tour title?
Slater’s win in Tahiti has pushed him into the lead on the ratings board after the surprise exit of the top 5 surfers within the first couple of rounds- causing no amount of upset, and leaving the title race wide open.
Billabong’s event created the platform to see some of the best barrel riding in the world, as conditions became bigger and better throughout the holding period of 20th August to 1st September. Solid 8-10ft swells came through, and the lip of the wave just kept getting fatter and heavier. Slater had to defeat an in form Owen Wright (AUS) who experienced a career best by making the final, and taking out the standout surfer of Josh Kerr (AUS) who was making even more of a name for himself in the heavy waves.
Special mention needs to be made for our european representative Jeremy Flores from
Hossegor, France, who surfed a perfect heat, scoring 20 points out of 20, and won the honorary In Memory of Andy Irons Award for his commitment in the surf.
The tour now turns its attention to event number 6 that’s set to be held in New York from 4th to 16th September and run by Quiksilver. Check out the details at
http://quiksilverpro.com