Surfer may have broken world record after riding 30m wave

Surfer Tom Butler believes he has broken a world record after riding a massive wave at Nazaré in Portugal.

Onlookers estimate the swell was 30.5m (100ft) - which if confirmed will easily beat the last world record of 24.4m by Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa last year in the same location.

Butler (29) said surfing the swell on December 14th was like “running away from a raging bull”. In a social media post, the professional surfer said he was “blown away” with all the attention.

A surfer drops in on a large wave at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal. Photograph: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

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Wow, I’m blown away with all the media attention my wave is getting. It’s a magic ride that I can keep in my memory bank forever. I never go out in the water trying to break any record, it’s not really a personal goal of mine. I just want to surf big waves as much as possible and do what I love. I really appreciate everybody’s kind messages and support since riding this wave on Friday! What a week in Nazare, again a huge huge shout out and thank you to @sebastiansurfs for letting me join his team and for towing me into this special wave. Thanks to @maya and @dresantos30 and Nuno the lifeguard for completing the rest of the A-team. @magicseaweed have just put up an article if anyone wanted to read more - link in my bio. See you next swell #nazare ❤️ @polvo32

A post shared by T O M B U T L E R (@tommybutts) on Dec 17, 2018 at 2:20pm PST

“It’s a magic ride that I can keep in my memory bank forever. I never go out in the water trying to break any record, it’s not really a personal goal of mine. I just want to surf big waves as much as possible and do what I love.”