Kelly Slater Withdraws From Billabong Rio Pro

Well…now we all know that Kelly Slater is indeed a human being, and not an unbreakable robot!  Following a heel injury made in Java, 11 time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater has decided to pull out of the next leg of the ASP world tour, the Billabong Rio Pro.

Slater had the following to say:

“I injured the inside of my left heel in Java and then re-opened it again the following week at Cloudbreak.  It became infected and I flew to Australia to get it treated and stitched in hopes of making it to Rio, if not for Round 1, at least for Round 2. I’ve been in the water since getting it stitched and while I can go straight, I can’t do turns at all right now so I’ll have to pull out of Rio. It’s unfortunate, but I’m just going to focus on healing up as soon as possible right now. Good luck to all the competitors in Brazil and I’ll be watching online.”

The Billabong Pro is set to start today, May 9th, in Rio de Janeiro, and with Slater out of the game brings a huge opportunity for someone else to get the  frontrunner spot on the ASP WCT ratings.

For more information and to watch this event live, go to  www.billabongpro.com