Footage shared Friday showed a surfer appearing to break a world record by soaring down the face of the biggest wave ever surfed.
World-record-holding big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner has reportedly surfed the biggest wave ever measured, according to a statement from Porsche, whom Steudtner is partnered with. The German athlete managed to tackle the 93.73-foot behemoth wave at Nazaré, Portugal, captured in all its glory by Porsche’s drone engineering team.
“I am very grateful to Porsche for the cooperative partnership over the past three years,” Steudtner said after the feat. “True to ‘Driven by Dreams’ and with Porsche as a partner I have been able to fulfill my dream of contributing to the further development of my sport.”
A world record-holding surfer tackled what could be the biggest wave ever, in Nazaré, Portugal.
The monster wave was measured at 93.73ft utilizing state-of-the-art drone technology. https://t.co/EAhrTWPP0u pic.twitter.com/eMIAyqJ03R
— ABC News (@ABC) April 19, 2024
Steudtner holds the previous world record for big wave surfing at the same spot in Portugal in 2020 for an 86.4-foot wave. (RELATED: Kenny Powers’ Surfing Intro Is One Of The Best Scenes In TV History)
Porsche hopes their new drone technology will revolutionize the sport of surfing, allowing viewers to see the elegant art form in a whole new way. “We are open to share our technical insights from the drone development with official experts. Our goal is to further increase transparency in big wave surfing and to provide accurate measurement data more quickly,” Porsche Engineering project manager Marcus Schmelz said in the statement.
“Big Wave Surfing is a beautiful sport; I love it and I am very proud to be able to bring it to the next level through development of safety and technology and believing in my dream,” Steudtner noted. (RELATED: Violent Swan Attacks Wake Surfer In Hysterical Video)
Steudtner developed the surfboard technology used in the latest world record with Porsche, too. Optimizing the design took three years but now he can reach speeds up to 100km per hour (about 62 miles per hour) on his board. This speed is required to ride the biggest waves.