Last weekend, Kelly Slater won the  Rip Curl Search Pro World Title in Puerto Rico. It was the 10th world title he had won, the first in 1992. 

His record streak has driven people to compare him to such greats as Michel Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, yet he takes it in stride.

“You can’t really say who’s a better athlete. I’m going to say there’s millions of people who are better athletes than me … that have better endurance, who can run faster, ride a bike faster, can climb a mountain better. … I don’t compare in that way.”

There is no doubt that Slater is one of the longest lasting athletes, what’s suprising is that the whole time he has stayed on top.  His pro career has lasted almost two decades.

Having been the poster boy for surfing for more than half his life, he has a lot of people to thank. Most notably, his greatest rival, Andy Irons who died recently of unknown reasons.

 “I feel blessed that we worked through the differences we had and I was able to learn what I’m made of because of Andy. It’s a huge and far too premature loss for all of us.” Said Slater.

It is sad that such a tragic event occured just days before one of the greatest achievements in the history of surfing. Memories of Irons and Slater’s rivalry will be cherished as the surfing world loses one of it’s greatest competitors