Kelly Slater: Greatest Athlete of All Time?
COSTA MESA, California/USA (Wednesday, June 20, 2012) – Is Kelly Slater (USA), 40, the greatest athlete of all time? 49 elite ASP World Tour victories, 11 ASP World Titles, surely his competitive accomplishments go unmatched in the world of surfing, and when you stack Slater’s dominance up amongst the rest of sporting’s greats, the result is the same. Slater’s winning history over the last 20 years dwarfs the competition and Quiksilver recently broke down traditional sporting greats to put Slater up against the rest. What do you think? Do you think Kelly Slater’s the best the sporting world has ever seen? Check out the link below to see Quiksilver’s detailed comparison of Kelly’s accomplishments.
Check out Quiksilver’s Blog and see what they’re offering up.
Comments
Category: All ASP News, ASP Editorial News
It obvious! He IS the best!
The greatest athlete of all times was chosen already in 2009 or so. The Brazilian Pele.
What about the cricketer Sachin Tendulkar a sporting god to more than a billion people.
What is a cricketer?
@Anton it is quite obvious that your IQ and your beach sandals size are probably identical,
If you cant respect achievement then you should stick to possibly growing some balls so you can, If not check YOUR aunt or Gran !!!
@jeremy,,hehehe you are very funny you make me laugh,,well i am a semi old fruit but still yummy enough to eat.There are plenty of veterans who could beat Slater or any of the guys in heats but this progressive surfing bull would not allow basic power and style,,but occy is challeging this a bit even though he was being underscored on sum waves at margies and trestles.And if it wasnt for guys like bobby the tour probably wouldnt make many changes there needs to be more debate and protest or we would all be sheep and the tour would just slowly move along with a few guys sitting in a booth writing dodgy scores on a piece of paper.And yes about delayed heats and replays yes they have improved it but the system is still stuck in the past and untechnical,,the heat in brazil last year with desouza and owen what a joke completely silly and a heap of other heats too.And its weird,that their calling in fiji sum of the best surf ever and they dont even run a few heats hmm Dream Tour.Jeremy i’m afraid to say i’m not the only one who can give different opinions on Slater or the Tour.Im happy to give different opinions and hope the tour can evolve more quick as surfing is the best sport by far.The tour should make more effort in improving the tour instead of relying on Slater to give the tour notoriety.
Agree that you can’t compare apples with oranges (conditions, different sports etc….). So to suggest someone is the greatest sportsman of all time is irrelevant. The question could (and should) be, who is the sportsman that you admire and respect the most. The answer is subjective, and in my opinion it is Kelly Slater.
I also like the comment above about airs in 1 foot slop being the norm, or the way competitive surfing is heading. As much as I dislike this, Kelly Slater has adapted and can still compete (in this aspect) with the so-called new generation.
I do not think that Kelly’s achievements will ever be matched in surfing.
@Jeremy,I didnt say 40 guys i said 40 year old guys,,probably all those guys on tour should be there but also a whole lot of other guys and more should be there but the tour doesnt allow it,as the tour is trying to tell you what progressive surfing is..You say that tennis and football etc has controversy but with those sports the ball is either in or out and your foot is either in or out so to qualify it more or less depends on who hits the ball in or who runs the fastest and they have also made big improvements with replays etc yes the tour has improved the judging but its not enough there r so many silly scores because the scores become official within each heat,,the tour depends on each heat and so many heats r dodgy and theres no justice for the loosers,,the scoring should be a longer drawn out process using replays well after the heat is finished if need be to come up with the true winner or even a draw.Maybe slater deserves all his titles maybe not but the tour has changed alot and its really fallen into place for him now as the waves are better and he can just relax,where back in the days there were more events and alot of shitty waves all those legend power chargers had no choice but to retire.Slater is an amazing athlete amazingly physically gifted but all those titles its just like an advertisement for the sport.I would still rather Currens approach to a wave 15years ago or whatever to copy cat slaters approach on a wave in 2012,,so the Tour can claim they have the greatest athlete,,for me who cares,,power and style still blows slater out of the water,,but yes slater is an amazing athlete.
Ah. thanks for your correction about 40 year old guys, I need glasses as I’ve hit the big number myself. Unfortunately this makes your argument more ridiculous. I challenge you to come up with even half that number.
What you say has no validity.I could tell you there are aliens monitoring our planet or there wasn’t really a holocaust but it would mean NOTHING because it there is no factual evidence of any of this.
Regarding heat replays you have a good point. The WT are now postponing following heats so the judges can review replays of late wave exchanged to make sure they can be as accurate as possible.
Have you been to any WT events? If not you should, because what the camera doesn’t show very well is the speed, size and power of the wave the surfers are performing on. I saw a heat in France once where a surfer scored a perfect legitimate 10. When I saw the online footage later it didn’t look more than a 7 because on screen it wasn’t possible to get a true sense of the dynamics of the wave and how critical the moves where.
Yes of course sometimes judges make mistakes but enough to make or break careers? Never!
You sound like Bobby M. Not good.
If you’re a young dude, i like your passion and I’m sure you’ll learn to back up your arguments with more legitimacy.
If you’re not well, you’re just a twisted old fruit and I’m done with you.
For sure Kelly is underrated but no mention of Bill Russell?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Russell
Patrice MARTIN (15 to 30 years old), 13 time nautic ski male world champion…
Jeanie LONGO (22 to 52 years old), 13 time cycling world female champion and 4 olympic titles !!!!
From the early begining, I’m a Kelly SLATER fan! But he’s not yet the greatest athlète of all time…
Yes the greatest of all time 4 sure!@ Those other sports pale in comparison to the art of surfing. Any of those other sports man would die if they tried to paddle out @ pipe. Surfing is so much more dangerous and dynamic than an other sport. Slater is the Boss!
You have forgotten Robby Naish, 13 World Championship title and a career spanning a longer time than Kelly.First world title in windsurfer at 14…. A very modest man and a great innovator. It is incredible that Robby Naish does not appears in the stats. One could argue that Robby’s titles are less important than Kelly’s but a fact is a fact and the all Quicksilver public relation exercise fall apart. Let’s ask Kelly what he thinks about the all exercise.
the greatest sportsman ever wouldn’t bash his board into a fellow surfers photograph like KS did walking up the steps at Bells after losing the final this year……
@jeremy,maybe you should say something with more meaning instead of talking about your aunties balls,,,,for example if your a 400 metre runner,you post the times thats it,if you dont have the time you dont qualify,,but surfing theres so many variables and the so called dream tour ,to be on that yu have to go thru all this qualifying bull and then get alot of dodgy scores because of the dodgy scoring system,,The question best ever sportsman is an impossible question,and yes he is physically gifted amazingly agile.His the best ever surfer who has been on tour,,but for many surfers out there his not there favourite surfer because of his style and the lines he takes on a wave.
I can assure you that my Aunt’s balls comment articulates a lot in one sentence. Using the word ‘if’ or ‘could’ when you are trying to justify your arguments is weak> E.g. IF i was born next to the ocean and surfed everyday with competitive friends from the age of 5 I COULD have been a world champion. It;s an opinion I may have but has no validity whatsoever because it has not been proven.
The same with your statement that 40 guys COULD rock up on the world tour and surf as good as any of these guys on tour. The only way these guys you speak of can PROVE it, is to put in the commitment, dedication grind and passion that the WT guys have over the years and get out there and give them a good whipping. There are probably a 100 surfers out there who have video sequences out that make some of the WT guys look lame but thats not reality. It may take a year of shooting and editing to put
an “amazing” sequence together. The WT guys haven’t got time for onanistic pursuits because they’re out there week in week out laying there reputations and livelihoods on the line in heats.
You speak of dodgy scoring. Well blow me down. Like there isn’t controversy in tennis, football, rugby and every sport. Get over yourself and your conspiracy theories.
I do sort of agree with you that the greatest sportsmen of all time is an impossible question but I think there are a select group of which Slater has PROVED himself worthy of joining.
there is more than 10 surfing events a yr, the QS (as it used to be called) has something like 50+ a yr, the 10 WCT events ARE majors, and anyone who follows surfing would know this…so to win 49 of them IS equivalent of a tennis or golf major…who knows how many minor comps KS has won…incredible
Yeah anyone who follows surfing would concede that 1 foot onshore slop is on par with other elite sport’s “grand slam” events. Check what events were in 10 years ago, half would have been held in junk before the dream tour. Have 4 major events at pipe, jbay, tahiti and snapper and than maybe there’s some parity (but not if you than factor in a sport’s participation numbers). He’s undeniably the best surfer ever competition-wise but compare apples with apples if ya gonna claim best sportsman ever.
Phil Taylor. 17 years, 13 World Titles. 3 times Runner Up. 8 in a row 1995 to 2002. Athlete or cool? Who’s to say:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Taylor_%28darts_player%29
Bradman is not an athlete but a player, otherwise it would explain much fat unless it is a practitioner of consumption, athlete is a person who practices a sport or discipline that involves training hard to improve the determinants in a sport such as reactivity, speed, stamina, strength.
If it were as you say, even bowling, darts, snooker or poker would be sports, but it is not so, I’m game.
If an athlete is what I am super man.
Robert Kelly Slater = Best Ever(Period) In sport/lifestyle that LOVES YOUTH, KingKelly can’t seem to convince his peers & industry that he isn’t welcome anymore. He is 40 F-ing Yrs old & is sticking it to the next next gen. I will admit it looks like the torch will be passed to this NextGen, BUT NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT! Love how people get all huffy when talking about this subject, but fact is Slater has set the pace more times than not AND managed to keep most of us interested. Those that say they aren’t, just don’t UNDERSTAND what they are being privy to. Regardless of surfing being a “opinionated” judged sport – it still can’t explain how a 40 yr. old bald guy could still be sticking to the next NEXT (bushy bushy hair and all). Because IF surfing is so Speculative, why not just screw the King and anoint a new one? Because Kelly forces them NOT TO that IS why.
Theres other 40 year old surfers who could be on tour tour and rock up to any event on the tour and surf as good as any of these guys on tour but the system and the qualification system does not allow it.You need to be able to do silly little airs in 1 foot surf to qualify.For me personally i would still rather see basic power surfing all the way to the sand.Its not like athletics ,,if you can run fast you enter the competition and if yu get the time you qualify.The tour depends on qualifying with doing a few little airs.Slater should be on tour but so should a heap of other guys.
Anton. If my Aunt had balls she could be my Uncle. Please think before you comment.
Yes, I do think that Kelly is the greatest athlete of all time. But you are never going to get the rest of the world to accept this! As for the Aussies, Sir Donald Bradman was not an athlete! He would laugh from his grave if you suggested it. He was an exceptional batsman (playing cricket) and an outstanding man. But to compare the Don with Kelly would be like comparing Kelly with The Duke. Can’t we simply accept that we have lived in an era when (and where) we have been lucky enough to experience the birth, growth and re-birth of a truly exceptional surfing talent.
What about Robby Naish? What about Mike Stewart? Where is Lance Armstrong in the article?
Valentino Rossi? And then there is that motorcross dude? My point: who cares?
KS the best? Fine by me.
How2ever being Aussie Bring back Shane Herring hahahahahlol.
Im Australian and I have nothing but Respect, admiration and totally awe of the Athletic achievments of Kelly Slater. He is the greatest competitive athlete of all time period. He has dominated his sport for twenty years, Has inspired and competed and beaten three to four generations of his peers and i mean inspired by being the youngest and oldest champion. Changed and redesigned performance and equipment barriers, Drug free albeit with a bit of womanly Troubles which i think was his achilles heel but most men would want that and dont like to admit it. I hope he touches the world in some spiritual way in the future like Ali that transcends Race, religion,apathy and that has yet to be the only thing we havent seen from him.
For sure, Kelly is the best of all times. Maybe we dont see someone similar to him, maybe our granchildren.
He is lucky I didn´t get into professional surfing, though.
He is my idol, but can we envy our idols?
I´m kidding, Ke12y, but the lucky part is true.
All the best to you my friend, I have accompany your carrer since I started surfing, Your defenitely the best.
Guilherme Souza
Im Australian and i love cricket…i used to think Slater was being hyped up too much in the 90′s…but after studying surfing closely for 15yrs now, ive realised KS is just a true champion in every sense…
this is one of those things that surfers care about loads and no-one else in the world of sports even acknowledges. A load a bloody nonsense. He won a world title in san fran and there was about 50 people on the beach. compare that to a soccer player scoring a cleveland steamtrain of a goal in front of a 700 hundred million worldwide audience.
some wiki facts to put surfings global importance into perspective
The (soccer) World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 World Cup is estimated to be 26.29 billion.[1] 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.[42]
Where is Jamie Mitchell on this list??
He sure is for any water sport, but it would be difficult to compare to all sports. Soccer player Pelé, boxer Mohamed Aly, tennis player Federer etc…
Not even close.
If you want to measure ATHLETE of all time, you can’t measure against only people who can afford a $500+ stick or ten, in a sport that you have to live near the ocean to participate in.
The largest pools of players are in ball sports: soccer and basketball attract more casual and pro players than any other sport. For that reason you have to disqualify Nadal, Slater, and other niche sports.
Slater vs Ali?
Slater vs Phelps?
Slater vs Jessee Owens?
And really, any list that uses a NASCAR “athlete” for comparison is seriously flawed.
But, he is the most dominant athlete in his given sport, across many, many sports. That is clear.
how bout robby naish kelly still has not beaten his 14 world championships. both water sports legends just windsurfing’s not quite as popular as surfing has become.!
Comparing his 49 victories to golf/tennis grand slams is not relative. They have 4 grand slams annually with over 100 competitors of the world’s best from multiple countries. Surfing has 10+ annually with less than half the competitors from a handful of countries. Have a look at general tournaments… the best golfers and tennis players have won bucket loads more than 49.
Also how many people surf versus tennis, running, swimming, golf, soccer, cycling etc etc. He’s undoubtedly the best surfer ever but don’t say best sportsman in a limited participation sport for mainly first world (though that’s changing fortunately) people lucky enough to have access to waves.
Statistically Bradman is so far ahead but again how many countries play cricket. Well actually more people in India alone would play cricket compared to how many surf globally. Plus cricket, tennis, golf, running isn’t subjective. You either win or you don’t, how many times does a surfing result look biased or go someone’s way depending on whose the sponsor and where the event’s held.
You would have been better of claiming Lance Armstrong as best American sportsman.
And yes I’m Australian.
I remember in 1986, World Junior Championships in Newquay, UK (my home break). Kelly was there and everyone was raving about him and nearly everyone I spoke to or said, that he would go far. But how far, no one could of imagined then how good he would actually become and to achieve what he has achieved is amazing.
One point to make was that due to the distance of the tides in the UK, Kelly and the other kids went out for their heat and were confronted with 8 – 10 rows of whitewater. No lull, no channel just constant pounding of surf. It was about4 – 6 ft and everyone struggled getting out back! Myself included, as a 14yr old and at my home break I didn’t feel so bad when I saw the top kids surfers struggling too. (I wasn’t competing just free surf).
Will his record every be broken again? Hard to say, but they would have to be miles better then Kelly, and that seems today to be impossible! Good on you Kelly, credit to the sport.
what is cricket?
what are waves?
steffi graf was the best!
slater is amazingly agile and naturally gifted but we will never know as the judging system is a joke who knows how many world titles slid his way.
Ask his oponents if they agree with you….come on, don’t talk to master this way.
Anton, you really do need to get a life and get over this bitterness and forget the issue! Are you suggesting that of the 11 titles, perhaps Kelly only really won half? No, you aren’t, so stop wasting time banging on this old and tired issue! I couldn’t be a judge, and I guess you couldn’t either. One reason, you have some agenda against Kelly. You seem to want to downgrade all his scores. Your views would have better credence if there was only one judge per heat. But there is a big panel from which each heat draws three or is it five? The majority of the surfing fans in the world accept he is the best by miles, and his fellow professionals do, too. Finally from me, I do not think the system of judging is a joke. It must be incredibly difficult. Well done to all of you.
Kelly by far- and the reason ASP has an audience. Be good to Kelly – he deserves it. No one will ever match his accomplishments, and he is the greatest public persona for the sport as well. Congrats Kelly – we love you!!
Sir Don Bradman is the greatest sportsman. Followed by Joey Johns you yank jokers!
Sir Don Bradman didn’t do for cricket what Kelly Slater has done for surfing…DB only played was it 50 innings? KS has won 49 major surfing titles…single-handedly revamped surfing from a sport of long haired pot smoking yobs to professional athletes respected for their fitness…how many tennis stars or golf pros have won 49 majors? none i know of…
Ben, you’re australian – Enough said.
@joel… Not sure how you can compare every surfing event on tour to a Tennis Grand Slam or a Golf Major? Kelly has certainly not won the equivalent of 49 Majors or Slams. You could possibly call Pipe a Major and Slater has won 6 but Slater has won 50 surfing contests now and Woods has 100 or more tournament wins (14 Majors), Federer has won 74 career titles (16 Slams).
That breakdown that Quiksilver has compiled is a bit ridiculous if you ask me (either that or they’re deliberately leaving some major sporting achievements/facts off the list to try make it seem more credible)… “Coolest Athlete In The World”?? according to GQ and People, do me a favour! Roger Federer came second (behind Nelson Mandela) in a global study of respected, admired and trusted personalities which spanned more than 50,000 people in 25 countries.
Is Slater the best surfer ever? Yes, Quiksilver have highlighted that brilliantly and Slater is certainly on the list of greatest athletes of all time along with Federer, Woods, Armstrong and obviously a good few others but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Forgot to mention Steven Bradbury! He did for ice skating, what Slater did for surfings. Most dominate performance ever ever at a winter Olympics!