Four-time Para Surfing World Champion, and former Paralympic cyclist Matt Formston, has taken his quest for sporting greatness to new heights. It all happened on November 30, 2022, on one of the world’s most dangerous waves at Nazaré, Portugal. And it took just 25 seconds to ride the 51-foot (15.24 metre) giant wave.
“I have been surfing big waves most of life but the biggest swells that hit the Australian coast are nothing compared to those in the Nazaré. I love testing myself, was going fast and having the time of my life.”
And when it was all over? “We packed up, headed for the airport and onto the Surfing World Championships in California which did not go well. Surfing from a 51-foot wave to a one-foot wave just did not do it for me…it was more challenging than the 50-footer!”
Formiston, who was diagnosed with macular dystrophy when he was five years old leaving him with three per cent vision, hopes to return to Nazaré and improve on his record- breaking effort but is up against the current world record of 92 feet for an able-bodied man. He is also toying with the idea of competing for a Paralympic record in freediving that involves swimming underwater without breathing equipment.
As for the best waves in Australia, “where there are no other people”. “Surfing boomed during Covid and the whole surf industry exploded. At the time I think I was one of the only professional surfers on the Central Coast but suddenly everyone had new surfboards and joined the ScoMo surf team that handed out money.”