Surfing-Slater marches on in Tahiti Pro as Teahupo'o pumps

Aug 10 : Kelly Slater advanced to the third round of the Tahiti Pro on Monday after the 54-year-old American overcame Brazil's Gabriel Medina and some heavy wipeouts at the 2024 Paris Olympics venue of Teahupo'o.Slater, who recently underwent hip surgery, retired from full-time competition in 2024 and welcomed a third child earlier this year but showed he had lost none of his competitive edge against three-times world champion Medina.In dangerous, challenging waves, Slater got smashed on his first attempt and was hit even harder on his second wave, breaking his board in two.But the Floridian recovered and threaded a long, deep tube that scored a 9.73 out of 10 to take the lead. He then backed it up with another excellent score to advance over Medina, who beat Slater in an epic final at the