Sebastian Steudtner set the official record for the largest wave ever surfed, measured at 26.21 metres in Nazaré in 2020.
Steudtner rode the wave at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, on 29 October 2020. The measurement was later confirmed by Guinness World Records using an analysis of video and photographic evidence, making it an officially recognized big-wave surfing record.
Nazaré is famous for unusually large waves because an underwater canyon extends toward the coast and influences how Atlantic swells focus near the shore. The canyon does not create waves by itself, but its shape helps amplify and organize powerful incoming swells.
The record is sometimes confused with earlier claims at Nazaré. Garrett McNamara held the men’s record for a wave measured at 23.77 metres in 2011, while Rodrigo Koxa was credited with a 24.38-metre wave in 2017 before Steudtner’s larger ride was confirmed. Wave-height records can be technically complex because measurement methods and official verification matter.