John John Florence surfed a near-identical performance to competitor Kelly Slater in what went down as arguably the “greatest heat ever” at the Tahiti Pro in 2014, with both athletes clinching close-to-perfect scores.
Now, Florence — who ultimately lost the contest against Slater, despite the heat ending in a draw — opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about his desire to take on the 11-time world champion at the 2023 Tahiti Pro once again, nearly one decade later.
“I’ve had a couple of heats against Kelly that’ve been amazing, and it would be incredible to have that rematch again,” Florence — who recently qualified for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics — tells PEOPLE ahead of surfing the Teahupoʻo stop on the WSL Championship Tour held between Aug. 11-20 this year.
“I think it only counts, though, if the waves are as good as they were then… and it’s big,” adds the Hawaiian born pro of the surf conditions in comparison to the big, barreling walls of water in 2014. “It’s so crazy to think it’s been that long. It’s amazing.”
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Competing against Slater has transformed the surfers’ relationship — especially for the 30-year old Florence, who is Slater’s junior by 21 years. “Growing up, he was always my idol,” the two-time world champion says of Slater.
“I’ve just grown closer and closer to Kelly over the years,” Florence explains. “I got to know him when I was young… someone to look up to. Then, it transitioned into competing against him and learning how to be like, ‘Oh, wait. Now… I can beat him,’ and wrap your mind around that,” he adds.
It’s also “crazy” for him to wrap his head around the fact he’s “still competing against” Slater, the 51-year-old surf legend currently in his 31st year on the WSL Championship Tour. However, Florence now views the surfing G.O.A.T. as an “inspiration,” instead of “just only wanting to beat him.”
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“At this point, it’s just incredible what he’s able to do with his body for this long,” Florence says. “I just know how hard it is competing. It’s so hard on your body now… and year after year. So for him to do it for this long, I hope I can be doing stuff like that when I’m his age.”
In February, Slater told PEOPLE he had a “bigger goal” than winning a 12th world title: to be good enough to qualify for the 2024 Olympic surfing competition, which made its debut in 2020 without him after he missed the cut by one spot.
Although the 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris, the surf contest will be held at Teahupoʻo in Tahiti — the same spot the “greatest heat ever” took place in 2014 and “one of the scariest waves in the world,” according to Florence, who will be a two-time Olympian when the Games start in July 2024.
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World Surf League
As for his thoughts at the idea of potentially rematching Slater at the Olympics? “That would be amazing,” Florence — who is “super happy” and “honored” to qualify for a second time — tells PEOPLE.
Although the Games are still a year out, he already has a strategy in place: “relax.”
“I was a little nervous the last time around,” recalls Florence, who made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games and was eliminated in the third round. “The last time I felt like a lot of people around me built up the Olympics to be this much different thing.”
“In my mind I was like, ‘Oh, I have to train differently. I have to do stuff differently,'” he explains. “But really, I think it’s more going at it just how I would normally compete.”
As for how the two-time world champion does that? Florence says, “When I am able to relax a little bit and just have fun with it, that’s when I compete my best.”
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Source: HIS Education