As part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has verified Sebastian Steudtner's award-winning ride as 26.21m. Picture: Screenshot
Cape Town - German surfer Sebastian Steudtner officially set a new Guinness World Record title for the largest wave surfed, a 26m wave which was ridden on October 29, 2020, at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal.
According to the World Surf League (WSL), Guinness World Records had officially certified the record-breaking feat on May 24, 2022.
As part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has verified Steudtner's award-winning ride as 26.21m.
“That was a special wave,” said Steudtner, who remembers the ride perfectly, despite the team of scientists taking more than 18 months to measure the wave.
“I remember, we were so deep and (it) put me into this wave with so much speed … It was a very, very special moment,” he said.
Brazil's Rodrigo Koxa previously held the record for the biggest wave surfed, at 24.4m, which was set in November 2017.
Praia do Norte beach, in Nazaré, has previously featured five times in the history books for the biggest wave, as the Portuguese beach is infamously known for producing monsters waves, due to the Nazaré Canyon.
IOL