Kelly slater became the youngest surfer to ever win an ASP Championship in 1992 at 20 years of age. He was and still is the oldest and youngest surfer to ever win it. Today, Kelly became the oldest to ever win a championship at 39 years old. He actually already was the youngest to win it, oldest to win, and had the most championships before today. Kelly simply pushed the age and increased the record amount of wins to 11.
“I think 39 is actually pretty young to most people,” Slater said in a statement. “I guess in the past, you would top out once you hit 30, but that’s definitely not the case now. I feel like I’m surfing at the highest level of my career, and I feel like I can keep going. I haven’t thought about it too much, but I plan on relaxing for the rest of the year and enjoying my time in Hawaii. We’ll see what 2012 brings to the table.”
Kelly has now won it all in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Yeah, that’s a lotta times.
Kelly’s 11th ASP championship was bitter sweet in a way as today was the anniversary of Andy Irons’ death.
“It’s sort of weird, and I’ve been thinking about a lot of things coming together,” Slater said in a statement. “What are the chances of me winning on the anniversary of Andy passing away? It makes it a lot more special for me. It’s a way to celebrate my memories with him and be thinking about him. It’s been on my mind, and I wrote a story about him the other day. It’s a time to think back.”
I think it’s sweet that Kelly won it in San Francisco (the greatest city on Earth). I really do wish I could be partying in The City tonight with Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer of all time.
Congratulation to Kelly Slater on his 11th ASP World Tour Title from Unofficial.