US surfing legend Kelly Slater wowed the crowd but missed his mark with the judges in the fifth round of the Hurley Pro event in California.
The 11-time world champion was competing for a quarter-final spot against Australia's three-time WSL champion Mick Fanning when he produced a mind-boggling but brilliant maneuver.
Video footage captures Slater leaving his surfboard halfway through completing a rotation before he disappears into the waves.
The 43-year-old then quickly reappears from the water back on his board and finishes the wave, leaving spectators confused as to whether it was a new trick or a brilliant recovery from a messy backside air reverse.
"I don't even know what you'd call that first manoeuvre. That's just freakish talent," former world champion Martin Potter told The Telegraph.
