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Boardfolio.com >> ASP World Tour News >> Despite Injury, Slater Primed for Big Performance

Above: Kelly Slater in last year's Quiksilver Pro Fiji Quiksilver Pro Fiji (May 25 - June 6) www.quiksilver.com Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) www.aspworldtour.com World Championship Tour (WCT) Press Release Despite Injury, Slater Primed for Big Performance in Quiksilver Pro May 23, 2003 (ASP Int'l, Aus) It's been eight years since six-time world champion Kelly Slater (FL, USA) has won the Quiksilver Pro and he is chomping at the bit to win another title at Fiji's legendary Cloudbreak Reef. Coming off the back of his first World Championship Tour (WCT) win in three years at Teahupoo, Tahiti, last week, Slater goes into the Quiksilver Pro as equal ratings leader with reigning ASP world champion, Andy Irons (Haw). Slater, 31, broke one toe and dislocated another during his Tahiti campaign, however with the aid of painkilling injections he hopes to be on his game for the US$250,000 Quiksilver Pro. The 13-day competition window for the event starts this Sunday 25 May. "Despite the injury, I'm feeling great and can't wait," said Slater. "Hopefully my foot holds up for the event. I think I'll have to keep shooting it up so there's not a lot of pain while I surf my heats." Slater is enjoying being back on top of the ratings and said he has wanted to win the Quiksilver Pro again since the groundbreaking first event at G-Land, Indonesia, in 1995. "Last year I felt like it might happen but I just couldn't keep myself consistent, I kind of peaked early," he said. Now Slater is stoked to be back in the winner's circle (Tahiti was his 24th WCT win) and he said the standard needed to compete well on this year's tour was highly evident at the first event of the year, the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast. "The first contest got everyone excited and I think that this year will definitely be the best year of surfing ever in the history of the earth, and the guys are definitely going to carry it through to the Quiksilver Pro in Fiji," he said. Slater has a great affinity with Cloudbreak and has been surfing the mid-ocean reef break, two kilometers south of Tavarua and Namotu Islands, since he was a teenager. "I find Cloudbreak to be a thrilling wave, and it's one of my favorite waves in the world," he said. "It has a lot of different personalities and the wave changes quite a bit as you're riding it. There're a lot of different sections; you can basically do anything on the wave that you want to, from one of the heaviest barrels, to big floaters, cutbacks, whatever. I've yet to really see people do aerials out there, it's more of a wave that you carve the face on, but it's an incredible wave." Slater has been going to Fiji since 1990 and he said that it feels like a second home in some ways. "I get there and I know all the people's names that work there and they all know me. When I come back from the competition at Cloudbreak, it's like I've just come home after being away for the day at work or something. "The people are just beautiful - just the kindest, nicest people you could ever hope to meet anywhere in the world, and it'll be nice to be somewhere real peaceful." West Australian Taj Burrow, who finished runner-up to Slater in Tahiti last week, is also primed for a serious assault in Fiji. Positioned equal third on the current ratings, Burrow will also celebrate his 25th birthday during the tournament. "Fiji should be good," said Burrow. "I know I've got some good boards. Hopefully I'll nail another good result there. It's always a really great event and I have my birthday on the Island (Namotu), so as usual I can't wait." Two-time world champion Tom Carroll, 41, (Sydney, Australia) has been awarded one of three wildcards for the event. (Carroll has a record of 26 WCT wins, surpassed only by American Tom Curren on 33 wins.) "I love this opportunity to compete against the best guys in the world," Carroll said. "I often have very close heats with them and I look forward to the competition, especially in the Fijian arena." The Quiksilver Trials will be held to select the other two wildcards to meet the world's Top 45 surfers. The Trialists will be: Troy Brooks (Australia), Damon Harvey (Australia), Fred Patacchia (Hawaii), Alain Riou (Tahiti), Masatoshi Ohno (Japan), Travis Logie (South Africa) and two local Fijian surfers. Meanwhile, 2000 world champion Sunny Garcia (Haw) has withdrawn from the event due to impending knee surgery next week and his place will be taken by Australian Beau Emerton. You can follow the event daily on http://www.quiksilver.com

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