Brazilian surfer breaks ‘biggest wave’ record - plus five more must-see videos
Rodrigo Koxa rides 80ft-high wave off the coast of Portugal
Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa has claimed a world record title after judges at the World Surf League Big Wave Awards confirmed that he rode an 80ft wave in Portugal.
The 38-year-old surfed the monster wave at Praia do Norte, off the coast of Nazare, on 8 November 2017.
That feat has now bagged him the Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave Award, which comes with a $25,000 (£18,300) prize and “goes to the surfer who catches the largest wave of the year by any means - either by paddling into it or being towed in by a jet ski”, says CNN.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I'm just so happy and this is the best day of my life,” Koxa said at the awards ceremony, in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday. “It’s a dream come true.”
The record was previously held by Hawaii’s Garrett McNamara, who rode a 78ft-high wave off the same coast in 2011.
Other surfers claim they have also broken McNamara’s record, but Koxa’s wave was the first to be confirmed as the biggest yet. “Experts can measure a wave from trough to crest by comparing it with the size of the people surfing it,” explains National Geographic.
The waves of Praia do Norte, where Koxa achieved his record feat, are famous for being among the largest in the world.
The beach’s westerly location on the European coast allows it to catch excessive amounts of wind from storms that sweep across the North Atlantic, which in turn produces ocean swells.
“The ocean swells get focused in this submarine canyon and have much more energy,” surfer and forecaster Micah Sklut told news website NPR in 2013. “So, first you’ve got really deep water, and then as it approaches the shore it gets very shallow, and that enables the waves to climb really, really big all of a sudden.”
Here are five more gravity-defying waves and their riders:
Garrett McNamara, Portugal
Raimana Van Bastolaer, Tahiti
Kelly Slater, Hawaii
Dylan Longbottom, South Pacific
Mike Parsons, Pacific Ocean
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'A new era of hurricanes'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Britain's demographic is changing
A 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The story of Japanese jeweller Tasaki
The Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
A brief history of third parties in the US
In Depth Though none of America's third parties have won a presidential election, they have nonetheless had a large impact on the country's politics
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-