The Australian broke the record of South African Josh Enslin, who previously grabbed waves for 30 consecutive hours. Blake Johnston started last night at 1am (local time) and plans to stay on the water straight through tonight, giving him a surf session of about 40 hours in total.
Mental and physical challenge
Groups of people flocked to Sydney beach to see Johnston in action, according to The Guardian. With the world record attempt, the Australian raises money for a good cause.
“I’ve been surfing all my life,” he told local media. “But this? No, I’ve never done this. It’s a mental and physical challenge to say the least.”
The 40-year-old planned to surf more than 500 waves – one every six minutes on average – and already succeeded this morning. Before 09:00 he had already caught 533 waves.
‘Much harder than expected’
Johnston’s wife said she never doubted he would break the world record. “I always knew he would achieve the goal he set for himself.”
“I’m happy but also fed up,” said Johnston himself after spending more than 30 hours in the water. “It’s much more difficult than expected.”
