Australian Blake Johnston distinguished himself this Friday by surfing in Sydney for more than 30 hours. He thus offers himself the world record for the longest surfing session. A record won to support a good cause.
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He just signed a world record this Friday. Australian Blake Johnston has completed the longest surfing session by chaining the waves for more than 30 hours off a beach in Sydney.
The 40-year-old former professional surfer broke down in tears after erasing the previous record of 30 hours and 11 minutes held by South African Josh Elsin. To accomplish this feat, he did not hesitate to brave the schools of jellyfish and the nocturnal ocean.
After enjoying a snack and thanking the hundreds of people who came to support him from Cronulla beach, the surfer returned to the water, the 40 hours in sight. “I still have work to do. I said 40, so I’m going to go and give it my all”he had time to tell reporters, acknowledging that he was “a bit burnt out”.
The surfer has “catch” about 500 waves since the start of his session at dawn on Thursday morning, some in the middle of the night in the light of floodlights. According to his brother Ben, the 40-year-old prepared for the possibility of a shark attack, without being worried. “I surfed at two in the morning with him and the lights went out so it was pitch black”he told the national broadcaster ABC, adding that there was “a pack of jellyfish” in water.
Blake Johnston was chasing the record with the goal of raising 400,000 Australian dollars, or 30,465,238 CFP francs. A sum that he intends in particular, for the prevention around suicide and mental health among young people, he whose father committed suicide ten years ago.
It’s not Blake Johnston’s first time running an endurance marathon: in 2020 he ran 100 kilometers along Sydney’s rugged south coast, completing most of the distance barefoot.
ABC News report:
