Surf legend Kelly Slater aiming for Paris 2024 Olympics before retiring
American 11-time world champion was a reserve at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 but wants one more crack at Olympic qualification to complete his storied career.
Surfing
Kelly Slater, the 11-time world surfing champion, will retire from the sport in 2024, but is aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics before hanging up his board.
“If I make the Olympics, I’ll retire at the Olympics,” he told the Guardian.
Slater would be 52 years old at the Games in July 2024. He was a reserve for Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021, where surfing made its Games debut.
For the Olympics in Paris, surfing will take place at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, where the American has won five titles on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour.
“The qualification process is going to be tough, but if I can get into the Olympics, the location the event is at in Tahiti – that wave really suits my strengths. So if I can get there I think I have a really good chance of a medal, but I think the harder part is going to be getting there, to be honest.”
Paris 2024 will see 24 surfers in each of the men's and women's events, with 10 spots awarded to the top male surfers in the 2023 WSL season. Additional berths are available for athletes to qualify via the ISA World Surfing Games.