Simone Biles, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz thrill to sight of Kelly Slater being inducted into the Pantheon of sport's greats.
A wildly star-packed audience in Madrid has thrilled to the sight of Kelly Slater getting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th anniversary of the Laureus Awards.
The ceremony, which had sports icons Rafael Nadal, Simone Biles, and Carlos Alcaraz in the crowd, also saw Nadal receive the Sporting Icon Award, Simone got the Sportsgal of the Year and pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis won the men’s.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is a semi-regular accolade given to athletes who’ve made extraordinary contributions to their sport, transcending competition to impact its culture, development, or global reach. It is not awarded annually, making it a rare and highly selective honor.
An aside.
BeachGrit’s tour correspondent JP Currie ain’t in the Slater-GOAT camp.
When we talk about those who are worthy of being called the GOAT, we should be talking about people whose sporting performances have transcended sport. We should be talking about figures who are globally recognised and historically remembered, people who are idolised by children and worthy of that status.
What has Kelly done for the world? What has surfing?
How do you compare his impact to Muhammed Ali, for example?
You could argue we should ignore everything Kelly has done and said outside of surfing, but I don’t think we should.
At the highest level of sport, the kind of level reserved for people dubbed GOATs, sport influences culture, brings people hope, and instigates change.
Anyway.
Winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a group of 69 retired sporting legends (e.g., Boris Becker, Nadia Comaneci) who vote by secret ballot. The Academy ensures selections are merit-based, free from fan-driven popularity biases.
Recipients receive a Cartier-crafted Laureus statuette, 30 cm tall, weighing 2.5 kg, with 670 g of solid silver and 650 g of gold in the base, symbolising victory across five continents
Since 2000, only 14 individuals have received this award, including Pelé (2000), Steve Redgrave (2001), Billie Jean King (2021), and Tom Brady (2022).
At the ceremony Kelly Slater said,
“As a little kid, I wasn’t sure if people in my area where I was from in Florida could win a world title… and now I look back, and in our sport, we have 22 world titles from my state.”
Slater, who is fifty-three, spoke of the honor of being voted by a committee of athletes, saying, “This is really based on merit and objective order that you’ve done at some point in your career.”
Slater’s Madrid trip included watching a Real Madrid game at Santiago Bernabéu, where he was gifted a jersey by club president Florentino Pérez.
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Well jealous he got it done 11 times ..much like dale earnhart did for NASCAR..the man got shit done..hate on but dint change the facts
Now THAT, is a shit eating grin.
Relative to Wisdom>a Clue to try sometime> “Praise is an Easy Cure for Emotional Neurosis”
I that video a selfie?
I think so.
He couldn’t find someone to shoot him?
I wish people would stop fawning over him and his like.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Dang. I dropped the Kelly-adjacent images day too early.
Is this a Kurt Russell Morgan Ciblic face merger?
It’s (according to reports) an actual person who was, apparently gunned down by L.A police this week. Probably one of those people who weren’t taught to not fuck with cops in LA.
I don’t understand how Slater is completely bald yet his forehead is somehow smaller than that dude’s forehead.
Oh joy, thanks
Goat gloat tour rolls on. I wonder what Tao is thinking….
‘Even Sue would have been better’
Contemplating a surname change?
what an impressive accomplishment, right up there with winning that specialty event in the ments , bet it comes with a sweet invictus timepiece too
Might conflict with the Breitling deal.
good point
Sorry. I think the term might be “wank”.
Not much to do with this, but I wasn’t aware Mason Ho was such a wanker.
It’s pretty difficult to argue he isn’t the greatest competitive surfer ever. His record speaks for itself.
Its much easier to argue he’s not the greatest athlete of all time.
Dunno why his fans are all butthurt. I mean for fucks sake take some interest in other sports.
Robby Naish won 24 fucking windsurfing world titles.
100%
Jeez uz throw jp to the wolves why don’t ya. Did you at least fling him an email saying I’m going to fuck you today . In front of everyone. Haha you sadistic cunt
so… the Costco foamies really didn’t help Gerry with global recognition afterall?…
One of the all-time sellouts that is
Speaking of which, I heard a story from a local the other day about being chased in from Ulus back in the early days, by Gerry Lopez’s goon squad of heavies, because this guy accidentally dropped in on GL. Zen peace and love my ass.
Absolute due respect to Kelly for his 11 titles, otherwordly surf talent, and propping up the East Coast… but, for me personally, Chas, Derek, Longtom, JP, Dick Messeroll, Tom Dugan, Steve Pezman, Jamie Brisick, Steve Hawk, Justin Housman, Matt George, Jason Borte, and so many others my brain has forgotten about since the early 1980s, have done far far more “for society” than Kelly… we’d know so very little about the likes of Kelly without these surf writers…
Some huge names on that list and then there is Arsène Wenge? How did he merit making that list?
Lance Armstrong was disqualified?
Winning a Laureas and becoming a first time dad all in the same year. He must be over the moon.
Laureas is cool but first time dad is a bit mean.
lol
11 titles, an Eddie, won pipe at 50, had Pam before Tommy and Giselle before Tom. Introduced the best wave pool in the world.
And is more articulate than 99% of the surfers ever to put on jersey.
Fire J.P.
yes, but don’t fire J.P.
‘retired sporting legends e.g., Boris Becker’
Bit of an understatement
When did Boris get out of jail?
Bankruptcy, poker, prison, years of alcohol and drugs, exotic wives, conceiving an extramarital child inside a luxury restaurant closet, all add up to the legend factor.
Not really the tennis tour type bobby martinez had in mind heh?
I read Andre Agassi’s autobiography. Boris sounded like a complete prick!
True – not a fan boy, just thought ‘retired’ was a fun way of saying his life turned to shits! Retiring the paul gascoine way
Agassi seems a good one – ima brooke shields kind of guy myself
Rumor has it that ol’ goaty will throw that trophy in for free if someone buys his north shore joint. And a set of endorfins, can of purps, some turtle thongs, a kelp tailed and an outerknown catalogue.
Don’t forget a lifetime of relentless maintenance bills from owning a house on the ocean. Starting with cleaning up the lipstick they stuck on that pig to get pen to paper.
staging is such a scam
not really a fan of awards unless it’s who wins a competition, and never heard of this award.
celerities have so many awards so they can pat themselves on the back.
that said, I looked at the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, to see if any had gotten free surfing at one of Kelly’s tubs or which sport babes Kelly may have entertained.
in the members list were of course Tony Hawk and Robby Naish, although Salamander Masekela was not in the list, so it must have been a tight vote.
congratulations Kelly. you may have to extend the mantle for a new We love you Kelly achievement trophy.
Slater ! Throwing shade on Bells Beach !
Throwing shade on Hemsworth more like.
Yeah pretty difficult to throw shade on
Bells Beach!