Take a good, long look at the photo above this sentence. Let it sink in that the speck you see in the middle of the frame is an actual human being on an actual surfboard riding an actual, real-life wave — no special effects here. In fact, many in the surfing world suspect the photo above shows the biggest wave ever surfed.
There's video of Burle's wild ride, too. The YouTube clip above has been viewed more than 86,000 times since Tuesday. Give it a look for a stunning perspective on an athletic accomplishment that's both terrifying and amazing at the same time:
McNamara caught his Guinness-confirmed 78-foot wave in Nazare last year. He then caught an even larger looking wave in the same spot in January, but that swell's height has not been confirmed. Still, many in the big wave surfing world think Burle has both rides beat. McNamara was there in Nazare on Tuesday as well, and even he tips his cap to Burle.
"All of the angles that were shot with video and still cameras, they don't do it justice," McNamara told ESPN.com. "He was right on the peak, right in the most critical section of the wave and the drop just kept going and going. It can be hard to tell where the bottom of this wave is, but I haven't seen anything like that before."
But here's the real kicker: Burle's possible record-setting wave wasn't even his most impressive achievement on Tuesday. Earlier, he found his friend and fellow Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira floating facedown in the water, according to the surfing magazine Stab. He was able to grab ahold of her and drag her to shore, where she was revived.
Not a bad day at the office. Now if only he'd been wearing a GoPro.
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