Antoine Albeau has done it again. The French windsurfer has broken the world record for the fastest speed over 500 meters.
The 52-year-old windsurfer born in La Rochelle, France, drove his sailing equipment at 53.49 knots (99.06 kilometers per hour) through Namibia's Luderitz Speed Challenge speed strip.
Antoine Albeau rode a new 5.3 NeilPryde sail and last year's JP custom board to break a nine-year-old record set by himself at the same venue.
In 2015, the sailboarder hit 53.27 knots (98.65 kilometers per hour). Now, he improved it by 0.22 knots.
Albeau's best run had two different speed records: one taken from his GPS (53.71 knots) and another from the competition's device (53.64 knots).
However, the world's fastest windsurfer had to wait a couple of hours for the official timing, which is extracted from the event's video system.
"What a joy tonight to see my time and new windsurf speed world record validated after video verification," expressed Antoine Albeau.
"It was just an amazing feeling when they gave me the time."
"The old record was 53.27 knots. I was hoping that I might just beat it by a tiny bit."
A Special Day at Luderitz
The turn of the month changed everything at Luderitz, and Albeau couldn't be more stoked.
"I was waiting to hear them say something like 53.32 knots, but it came in at 53.49, so there was a good gap between the records, and the feeling when I heard the time was incredible."
"I have come down a little bit now, but the feeling at the moment was amazing and unforgettable. I checked in kilometers per hour, and it was 99.06 kilometers per hour."
"I was on the prototype of the JP speed 40 from last year, the exact prototype of the board which is now the production speed board."
"I was on the new prototype speed sail that Robert made me, the 5.3, which is the new evolution of the EVO for next year. The sail was amazing."
"The wind was maybe around 40-45 knots."
The next goal is the 100-kilometer-per-hour barrier, which is "only" 0.51 knots (0.96 kilometers per hour) away.
December 1, 2024, was a special day for many other windsurfers who were also able to beat personal and national records.
Jenna Gibson also set a new women's world speed record in windsurfing.
The British sailor accelerated to 47.58 knots (88.11 kilometers per hour) and broke Heidi Ulrich's 2022 mark set at 47.16 knots (87.34 kilometers per hour).
She has also become the first woman to hit a two-second peak of 50 knots.
The 2024 Luderitz Speed Challenge runs from November 4 to December 8.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com