Slater wins at Bells, Taj keeps WCT lead

Kelly Slater is old, bald and was surfing this week with a cracked bone in his foot.
But as Australia's current world champion Mick Fanning noted, Slater is still The Man.
The nine-time world champion from Florida displayed his vast experience and skill on
Friday to win his fourth Rip Curl Pro title, beating Fanning in the final at Johanna
Beach.
Slater, 38, is the oldest surfer on the men's world tour and now joins Australian
Mark Richards as the only men to have won the iconic bell trophy four times.
Earlier on Friday, he gained motivation as his golfing friend Fred Couples became
the oldest man to lead the Masters at Augusta.
"Everything you pick up or read about these days is me being old and the young guys
taking over," said Slater, who jumped to second on the World Championship Tour
standings.
"There's no secret, those guys are setting the bar - but there's a difference
between competition and making video sections.
"Doing the craziest thing every time isn't going to win heats, because you're going
to fall.
"Sometimes you've got to just win that heat and get through it."
On Tuesday, Slater hurt his foot while free surfing and needed a pain-killing
injection to compete the following day.
He suffered a cracked bone and ligament damage on the top of his right foot, but did
not need a needle on Friday to win through four rounds and take the title.
"Every time I go to walk up the beach or walk down the beach, the thing kills me,
but then I get in the water and I guess the adrenaline starts going and I don't feel
it as much," Slater said.
"I was probably lucky overall - if it was in the ankle, I probably couldn't have
surfed."
West Australian Taj Burrow, the winner of the season-opener on the Gold Coast, lost
to Fanning in the semi-finals but retained the WCT lead with 16,500 points to
Slater's 13,750.
Defending event champion Joel Parkinson suffered an upset loss on Friday to American
Bobby Martinez in the quarter-finals, before Slater beat Martinez in the semis.
Martinez is now fourth in the standings behind South African Jordy Smith while
Fanning is fifth and Parkinson sixth.
Fanning had mixed feelings - pleased to compete so well, but disappointed not to win
his second bell after snaring it in 2001.
Slater had previously won in 1994, 2006 and '08.
The American took the lead for good midway through the final when he scored 8.93
points from an aerial and beat Fanning 17.03 to 12.
"I just didn't have what it took in the final and the man just took me down,"
Fanning said.
"in the scheme of things, in the world title race, it's great.
"(But) I wanted that one so bad ... this year I really wanted to get a bell - but
not the second bell."
The competition was moved from Bells Beach on Friday to one-metre surf at Johanna,
about two hours west along the Great Ocean Road.
Organisers had to work through inconsistent surf since the men's and women's
competitions started early last week.
It is understood to be the first time in the event's 49-year history that the men's
competition has needed to visit four different sites.