https://www.instagram.com/p/B8-ckIynUN0/
Joel Tudor definitely still has it. Dude looks fit as a 23-year-old, even though he’s three years into his 40s and he rode that fitness to the title at the Noosa Longboard Open yesterday, winning the event with his kids in tow, thanking the crowd and expressing gratitude to be able to have his youngest, Judah, along to see his old man win an event.
Tudor looked well within himself the whole event, too, stringing together perfect footwork and wave selection with clean conditions down under. “Winning was awesome today,” he wrote on Instagram……but my flying armbar on @judahtudor prior to semi final was better! Thanks @wsl @devon_howard for an amazing first event…..looks like this old fucker is gonna make a run for the 2020 longboard world title!”
Now that would be a great story. At 43 (and from our calculations), Tudor becomes the second oldest event winner of a WSL tour event (Slater won Teahupoo at 44). The win comes 16 years after Tudor’s last professional longboarding victory. And the San Diegan was a wildcard into the event who’s now ranked Number 1 in the World.
“I think the last time I won this event was 20 years ago and most of the competitors here this week weren’t even born,” Tudor said via WSL release. “I didn’t really plan on competing…I got the wildcard and kept making heats and found a rhythm….The best part is that my kids are here. They’ve seen the trophies and heard the stories but now they’ve seen their dad win, something which is really cool. I suppose I’m going to have to go for my third world title now, which will be epic.”
