Kelly Slater won his 11th world surfing championship at the Billabong Pro Pipeline in Hawaii, only a week before he turned 50. He was the youngest world champion when he won in his 20s and is now the oldest to ever win as well. His biggest competition in this event was the 24-year-old Hawaiian Seth Moniz as well as others in their early 20s which is typical for surfers. Yet, Slater remained dominant despite being double the age of his competitors.
It is common to believe that athletes at a certain age have past their prime and are bound to be replaced by the younger generation. Yet, in an interview, Slater states that he thinks of surfing “like a martial art – you don’t get worse as you get older, you get more experienced”. This statement is shocking for the typical sports fan who may not be a surfing connoisseur, since the stereotypical surfers are all young. It is also surprising to see such success for someone who is well past their middle-age, since aging is often associated with a decline in physical abilities and viewed by society as negative.
Globalization has led to a replacement of the ‘heroic’ or celebratory views of the ageing population with the notion that younger is better. The concept that older athletes are rare is apparent when the headline refers to the surfer’s age first, rather than his achievements. However, Slater has managed to challenge and resist the prevailing constructions of the aging process within society by making headlines at the age of almost 50 years old.
HannahP
Sport, Not Games ⚽ 