Amidst His Brazil Controversy, Kelly Slater Shares an Old Video of His Historic Win From 1997 at Rio de Janeiro

On 11th February 2023, he turned 51 years of age, completing more than 3 decades of surfing. Even after winning the World Surfing League title a whopping 11 times, Kelly Slater’s thirst for surfing isn’t quenched yet. Attending almost every competition on offer, in surfing, Kelly Slater had to pull himself out of the Vivo Rio Pro 2023 due to an injury. Such is the passion among his fans to watch him surf, it created a huge stir of disappointment among them. Amidst the controversy, a video of him winning the competition once is shared online.

Kelly Slater has achieved nearly every milestone in every corner of the planet that offers a good surfing spot. In 1997, he won a surfing contest in Rio de Janeiro. It was an epic moment in the then-25-year-old’s life, a video of which is doing rounds online.

Kelly Slater reminisces good old times

Kelly Slater loves surfing, and when he isn’t able to attend a competition, no one misses it more than him. His Brazilian fans might be upset that Slater couldn’t make it to the 2023 Vivo Rio Pro, despite pertaining health issues of Slater, as cited by him. Several fans even debated the merit of those issues.

However, by sharing an old video of him online, Slater expressed that he may be feeling the ‘blues’ after missing out on the Vivo Rio Pro. He took to his Instagram stories and wrote, “Brazil 1997 Barra Tijuca”. Alongside, was a video that compiled his best surfing moments on the waves of Barra Da Tijuca.

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The video was shared by a certain Mario Fortes, who wrote, “My edit of some images of Kelly winning a historic event, with epic waves in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, 1997”. He had posted an old clip from the “Sportv” channel that broadcasted the tournament then.

It was a performance of the highest caliber

Located in the west of Rio de Janeiro, in the higher class neighborhood, Barra Da Tijuca produces some of the finest and most legendary waves in the surfing circles. In 1997, as per the clip attached, Slater performed everything a surfing fan might hope to see. There were barrels, aerials, aggro, and all kinds of tricks that Slater performed. It was an epic performance, that packed almost every trick a surfer can hope for.

It is his years and years of hard work put in, resulting in such grand performances, that earned him a legion of fans worldwide. Therefore, even though there were talks about an injury that prevented Slater from participating in the Vivo Rio Pro this year, his fans, who must’ve been looking forward to seeing him perform, just could not fathom his absence. However, he promises a strong comeback and might be seen performing at next year’s Paris Olympics.

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