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
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
'Dead' woman nearly suffocated in morgue bag
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published