Taj Burrow: The crown-less king of surfing
Taj Burrow may not be the name that often makes headlines, but it is undeniably one of the most respected ones in the surfing community. The professional surfer from Australia has earned his place among the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) elite
through his unprecedented skills and ability to deliver an exceptional performance regardless of the nature of the wave.
Burrow's aerials and progressives manoeuvres makes him one of the most innovative and stylish athlete in the sport and is what really separates him from the rest of the pack on the ASP World Tour.
Burrow was born on June 2, 1978, at Busselton in Western Australia, to Vance and Nancy Burrow. Growing up in a location with notoriously heavy waves, the young Burrow took his first step into the sport at the age of seven and seemed to have loved it too
much to ever let go.
As the Western Australia-native grew up, his skills on the surfboard kept on enhancing. Soon, the natural footer was competing in major surfing competitions. In 1996, he rampaged through the ASP 5-Star headworx Pro Fistal Beach like a raging beast to clinch
the first major victory of his career. The remarkable performance allowed him to catch the critics’ eye and come under the radar.
Just a year later, Burrow made his resume even more impressive by adding two more Star-event victories to it, emerging triumphant in the ASP 4-Star OP Pukas Pro as well as the Coca Cola/Rusty Masters Margaret River. For his outstanding performance during
the year, he received the Australian Male Surfer of the Year award in 1997.
Burrow reaped the most satisfying reward for his consistent and impressive performances during 1998 to get incepted in the elite ASP World Tour, earning the boasting rights for being the youngest surfer of the time to earn his place among the surfing heavy-weights.
In his rookie year, Burrow managed to really stand out and ended up finishing in 12th place. His promising performance in his very first year among the elite surfers earned him the ASP Rookie of the Year award.
The next year saw the regular footer return as a real formidable force and leave a mark on the 1999 ASP World Tour. After spending just one year among the top surfers of the world, Burrow had gained the confidence to take them on fearlessly and collected
his very first elite victory by walking away with top honours from the Coke Surf Classic Manly in Australia.
In the very same season, he made it to the top of the podium at Rio Marathon Surf International in Brazil, making it his second elite win. By the time the Tour wrapped up, Burrow had climbed up the rankings to sit in second place.
In the years the followed, Burrow continued to make a solid impact in competitions, especially the ASP World Tour, collecting victories and posing as a huge threat to the World Championship title. With the exception of 2003, Burrow had consistently finished
in the Top-10 in the ASP World Tour rankings since 1999, moving into Top-5 by 2006 and even finishing as runner-up a year later.
However, the title always managed to elude him, though that hardly ever killed his spirits and he never failed to return the next year with the same determination and vigour.
It is quite evident that even though Burrow is a great competitor, he is not solely focused on world domination but is rather focused on pushing boundaries and taking the sport to an entirely new level.
Arguably the most technically-sound aerialist in the sport, Burrow serves as an inspiration for the new generation of surfers. His mind-blowing videos, namely ‘Sabotaj’, ‘Montaj’ and ‘Fair Bits’, simply highlight his commitment towards the progression of
the sport.
At the age of 33, Burrow is competing in his 14th ASP World Tour. So far in the season, his performance has been nothing short of amazing, making his way into the finals on two of the four stops but failing to wrap it up with a win on both the
occasions.
Sitting at fourth place in the rankings, the Australian surfer is among the strongest contenders for this year’s ASP World Championship title.
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