Sydney –
A former Australian professional surfer has broken the world record for longest surfing session set in Sydney on Friday.
Blake Johnston jumped into the water at 1am on Thursday at Cronulla Beach, south of Sydney, surpassing the previous mark held by South Africa’s Josh Enslin after 30 hours and 11 minutes.
The Australian is set to surf until Friday night, extending the new record to over 40 hours on the water.
Johnston said he was “pretty prepared” when he returned to the beach to answer questions from the media after breaking the record, with hundreds of spectators cheering him on his achievement.
“Thank you guys, you are the best,” he said before heading back to sea.
“Everybody deserves to feel great and take care of themselves. Good luck.”
Spotlights were used at night to guide Johnston in the surf, while medics monitored his health on the beach.
Surfing over 600 waves during the session, Johnston set a world record in partnership with the Chumpy Pullin Foundation to raise money for youth mental health initiatives.
(Reporting by James Redmayne, Sydney; Editing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
