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Bjorn Dunkerbeck hits world-first windsurf speed of 103.67kph
Catherine Newman
Bjorn Dunkerbeck is the first person to hit a windsurf speed of 103.67kph. /Tomislav Moze/Red Bull Content Pool

Bjorn Dunkerbeck is the first person to hit a windsurf speed of 103.67kph. /Tomislav Moze/Red Bull Content Pool

Windsurfer Bjorn Dunkerbeck has achieved the sport's fastest ever time on water with a top speed of 103.67kph during the Luderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia.

The 52-year-old half-Danish, half-Dutch rider hit the record speed over a two-second time gap and held an average speed of 101kph over a 100m stretch of water. 

The site of the record, Luderitz, has become famous for 'The Ditch' which is a 500 meter-long canal where the water stays flat even when the wind howls, which makes it the perfect place for windsurfing at such speeds. 

 

The conditions have to be just right in order to reach such windsurf speeds. /Tomislav Moze/Red Bull Content Pool

The conditions have to be just right in order to reach such windsurf speeds. /Tomislav Moze/Red Bull Content Pool

Technology has evolved massively since his last record in 1992, when he hit 80.1kph. Even though hitting such insane speeds on water requires an extraordinary amount of skill, experience and intimate knowledge of equipment, Dunkerbeck knew that after five years of attempts and months of waiting, he needed perfect conditions to break 100kph with consistent gusts of strong wind. 

However, the record-breaker doesn't want to stop there, and his next goal is to maintain 100kph for over 500 meters. 

 

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