Veteran Kelly Slater wins in Tahiti

TEAHUPO’O, French Polynesia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Kelly Slater of the United States bested Australian Owen Wright in the finals of the Billabong Pro Tahiti professional surfing tournament Monday.

Slater, 39, knocked off Aussie Josh Kerr in the semifinals before winning the finals in impressive 4-to-6-foot waves at the famed Teahupo'o break in Tahiti.

"I felt like I finally hit my stride in the semifinals this morning," said Slater, who scored 18.43 out of a possible 20 points to Wright's 17.10. "I fell on a couple of waves in the finals that were maybe better than what I ended up getting scored on."

Wright made a late bid to catch Slater on a large wave as the clock ran down but the veteran Slater had already used his experience in navigating the tube to build up a decisive lead.

The win was the 47th of Slater's career. He is a 10-time Association of Surfing Professionals champion and holds a narrow lead in this year's point standings over Jordy Smith of South Africa.