British surfer Tom Butler rides 'biggest ever wave' in Portugal
British surfer Tom Butler believes he's broken the world record after successfully riding a monster swell in Portugal last week.
The 29-year-old took on the huge swell in Nazare, and estimates the wave was 100 feet tall (30.8m). The official world record is 80 feet (24.3m), set last year by Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa at Nazare.
"It's the biggest wave surfed in the world this season, and could beat the current big wave world record. When I was going down, I thought, 'holy f..., this is the fastest I've ever been,'" Butler told the Daily Mail.
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He compared riding it to "running away from a raging bull", but will have to wait until the WSL Big Wave Awards in April to find out if he's taken the record from Koxa.
"Time kind of slows down, it's instinct really. I was doing everything to hold my balance. That's when your training comes in - I do lots of gymnastics training to help me keep balanced," Butler told the Daily Mail.
Butler took to social media after his feat, saying "Christmas came early for me today".
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