According to the World Surf League (WSL), Rodrigo Koxa beat McNamara’s former record, officialised by Guinness World Records in November 2011, by 61 centimetres, at the very same spot.
The feat was accomplished during the Portuguese leg of a big wave surfing competition staged in Nazaré last November (the WSL Big Wave Awards), but was only announced on Saturday of last weekend at a ceremony in California, attended by the Mayor of Nazaré.
Organisers said not only did the 38-year-old Brazilian “top the field at the WSL Big Wave Awards, but he also set a world record for the biggest wave ever surfed.”
Former record holder Garrett McNamara, who single-handedly catapulted Nazaré onto the big wave map, has congratulated his successor, deeming him one of the most humble people he has ever met.