He "wrestled" more than 700 waves for 40 hours off Sydney. Australia's Blake Johnston broke the world record for the longest surfing session on Friday. This extraordinary challenge for the 40-year-old man began Thursday at 1 am and it is under the applause of hundreds of people that he finally returned to the beach of Cronulla around 17 p.m. on Friday.
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This former professional only took a few breaks allowed by the rules to eat, recover from sunscreen and eye drops. At each temporary exit, doctors checked his heart rate and blood pressure before letting him set off again on an ocean at 24°C, reducing the risk of hypothermia.
Funding for suicide prevention
Blake Johnston broke the previous record of 30 hours and 11 minutes held by South African Josh Enslin, braving jellyfish schools and the night ocean. The surfer, whose father committed suicide ten years ago, has raised more than 330,000 Australian dollars (208,000 euros) in favor of prevention around suicide and mental health among young people.
A star is born in the Sutherland Shire! Blake Johnston carried off Cronulla Beach after surfing for 40 hours straight. Unbelievable effort. @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/KdkKAvJBw5
— James Wilson (@WesternWilson9) March 17, 2023
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According to his brother Ben, the forty-year-old had prepared for many obstacles, including a possible one... shark attack. "I surfed at two o'clock in the morning with him and the lights went out so it was complete darkness," he told national broadcaster ABC, adding that there was "a bunch of jellyfish" in the water.
A lover of challenges
This isn't the first time Blake Johnston has embarked on an endurance marathon: in 2020, he ran 100 kilometres along Sydney's rugged south coast, shooting down most of the distance barefoot.
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