Short version? Kelly Slater will soon be en route to South Africa. To surf. In a heat. On the Championship Tour. Where he belongs, some might say.
Since breaking his foot during a freesurf at Boneyards during last year’s Corona Open J-Bay, Kelly Slater was forced to pull out of that event, all remaining 2017 CT events (which earned him the Injury Wildcard for 2018), and the first five events on the 2018 Men’s schedule. “It sucks, but so many people deal with such horrible things around this world every day that a broken foot is pretty minor in the scheme of things,” Slater told the WSL. “Sometimes a bad thing is a good thing. I’ll make the best of my time off.”
That he did, riding fun waves in New Jersey…
Perfect waves at the Wave Ranch…
Big waves at Cloudbreak…
Pretty much riding everything except contest waves in a CT singlet. “Long story short, I am not on the level I want and need to be to compete,” he announced after the Cloudbreak swell. “When I’m ready, properly healed, and able to compete with the world’s best, I will.”
But then, Kelly sustained another foot injury, although not so severe as to keep that INJ next to his avatar. “Strange looking things, feet,” he said on Instagram. “I’ve had 5 foot injuries now since 2003, the latest coming last week with a strained ligament (Turf Toe) on the same foot (R) I injured last year. Not a major injury, but puts me in doubt for J-Bay.”
Hopefully, those doubts have been erased by now. The waiting period for the 2018 Corona Open J-Bay opens in less than two weeks, July 2nd, where Slater is expected to face Italo Ferreira (who’s been red-hot this season) and Kanoa Igarashi (who’s been lukewarm) in Round 1.
“Sometimes the universe directs you to where you need to be,” Kelly reasoned. “Injuries used to really freak me out but they’ve taught me patience and and a sense of calmness somehow.”
Source
Plagiarism is the copying & pasting of others work without giving credit to the original author or artist. Plagiarized posts are considered spam.
Spam is discouraged by the community, and may result in action from the cheetah bot.
More information and tips on sharing content.
If you believe this comment is in error, please contact us in #disputes on Discord