Surfing Legend Kelly Slater Saves Woman And Child From Freak Wave

At age 43, Kelly Slater has quite the resumé, he launched his own clothing line, Outerknown, perfected the man-made wave pool, and has won 11 world titles.  But according to an Instagram post from Chris White, Slater did something he had never done before.

As White’s wife, Sarah and infant son, Van, were walking across the famous Kamehameha Highway in Oahu, a rogue wave came crashing across the street, striking Sarah and knocking over the stroller that Van was in. That is when Slater, who was walking by, jumped into action and saved the two from drowning.

According to Chris, a surf photographer from Australia, Van had swallowed a lot of sand and water. “Van was strapped into the pram and was swallowing water and sand. So lucky Slater got to the pram and flipped it back up.”

Slater responded with humility:, “Van’s first wave was a huge one!” Perhaps one day Van will follow in Slater’s footsteps and be the one catching waves.