Surfing great Kelly Slater wins Billabong Pro Pipeline days before his 50th birthday
CNN
Just days shy of his 50th birthday, legendary pro surfer Kelly Slater won the Billabong Pro Pipeline in Hawaii on Saturday against the son of a former rival.
The final of the Pipeline pitted Slater against Seth Moniz, a 24-year-old whose father Tony competed against Slater decades ago. With a "frothy Backdoor mutant" and a "well-threaded Backdoor barrel," per World Surf League, Slater took down the younger competitor to win the Pipeline for the 8th time.
"I was out there telling myself, just be in the moment, no matter how much tension there is. Just breathe," he said shortly after winning. "I committed my life to this, to all of this. To all of the heartbreak and all of the winning and all of this crap. I've hated lots of it, but I just savor this. This is the best win of my life."