American Surfer Catches Massive Wave, Possibly Sets New World Record

A surfer from California may have just stamped his name into history books by catching a 108-foot-tall wave.

Surfing a wave / Unsplash

23-year-old Alessandro "Alo" Slebir, an experienced surfer who is evidently filled with passion for the water, just shocked the surfing community by catching a colossal wave reaching 108-feet-tall.

The exciting event unfolded at Mavericks in Northern California just two days before Christmas Day, adding to the holiday magic.

"You're going so fast on those surfboards, you're probably going 30, 40, 50 miles an hour and that wave was so tall that it was sucking so much water coming back at you that it was a weird feeling, feeling the friction of the water underneath the surfboard, I've never felt that on really any other wave that I've ever caught," Slebir told KSBW.

According to KSBW, if Slebir's accomplishment is confirmed to be a new record, he will have beat the current world record of 86 feet, set by German surfer Sebastian Steudtner in 2020.

A wave of this size is a rare sight, and catching one is even more unusual.

While in Hawaii, Slebir caught wind of a storm in Japan that was creating tempting waves, all heading toward Mavericks. Slebir and his friends couldn't resist the potential of the waves.

"It wasn't like a decision of maybe we should go or not, like myself and my two partners, Luca Padua from Half Moon Bay, we knew right away we wanted it, said grab the rope and he towed me, and the rest is now we're here," said Slebir.

A nearby witness and friend of Slebir, John Mel, spoke with KSBW about the shocking occurrence.

"Like my dad's been out there for 30 years or whatever, and he says that's the biggest and craziest he's ever seen it, so that's saying a lot so I might not ever even get it again in my lifetime who knows," Mel stated.

Whether or not Slebir broke a new record is still being investigated, although the sheer size of the wave is enough to impress surfers all over the world. Guinness World Records and the World Surf League will be joining forces to determine the outcome of this potential record.