Days before 50th birthday, surfing great Kelly Slater wins Billabong Pro Pipeline in Hawai'i

On Day 3 of the Winter Olympics, America's biggest victory might have come not on a frozen halfpipe in China, but in the warm waves of the Banzai Pipeline, thousands of miles away in Hawai'i.

The win belonged to Kelly Slater, the surfing great who turns 50 on Friday. Slater defeated a rider less than half his age to capture one of the sport's iconic events, the Billabong Pro Pipeline near the renowned reef off of Oahu.

Now that he's on top — again — Slater is starting to consider retirement. Nothing official, of course. Just thinking about it. For advice on the matter, Slater messaged with his buddy, Tom Brady, for a back and forth from one athlete dubbed the GOAT, or Greatest of All Time, to another.

«It would be interesting if that happened in the same week,» Slater cracked in an interview with The Associated Press, on the possibility that he would retire on the heels of Brady's announcement. «We'll see how that goes. I'm contemplating whether I stop now or really go full bore this whole year, which would be, in my eyes, really for the fans and saying goodbye to everybody after all the years of support they've given me.»

Should he step away, he already has his retirement plans: surfing.

«Everyone who retires from surfing just goes surfing more,» he said.

Not everyone has won this much. Slater was the youngest world champion when he captured the title at 20. He was also the oldest when he won it at 39. He just finished his last contest in his 40s with a win too.

In all, he has become a household name and captured 11 world championships. His win over the weekend was his eighth World Surf League Championship Tour victory on the Banzai. It also marked his 56th overall tour win.

To close out his latest victory, he beat Seth