The sport of snowboarding began more than four decades ago in Muskegon, Michigan by Sherman Poppen. He named the now popular winter sport, snow surfing. Today, there are more than eight million snowboarders in North America alone. Shannon Dunn and Shaun White are among the many well-known athletes who made a name for themselves in the sport. Worldwide competitions provide the chance to establish many records.
1) High-speed Descent
The amount of ice and the characteristics of the terrain are factors in how fast snowboarders travel downhill. On average, boarders descend at speeds ranging between 25 to 35 miles per hour. However, in 1999, at the Les Arcs Resort, Darren Powell from Australia defied physics and soared at a speed of 126.4 miles per hour (202 kilometers per hour). He also set the previous record of 121.7 miles per hour (196 kilometers per hour).
2) Highest Air
At the 2007 Arctic Challenge in Norway, Terje Hakonsen was rose 32.2 feet (9.8 meters) into the air, as he propelled off a quarter pipe. The height was more than sufficient to allow him to accomplish a 360. Hakonsen joined Shaun White and Travis Rices in the snowboarding documentary entitled “First Descent.”
3) Longest Rail Slide
Spaniard Alejandro Benito accomplished a 223-foot (67.9-meter) rail slide in 2009. However, in 2011, teen Calum Paton from Great Britain beat Benito’s record by sliding 256 feet (78 meters). Paton accomplished the task at an indoor venue in Milton Keynes known as the Sno! Zone.
4) Most Vertical Feet in a Day
According to the “Guinness Book of World Records,” Tammy McMinn and Jennifer Hughes set the record for vertical heli in 1998. the ladies achieved approximately 305,525 vertical feet (93, 124 meters) in 24 hours. Their accomplishment broke all existing records held by men and women. The managed the feat by going down the same Atlin slope in British Columbia, Canada more than 100 times.
5) Most Winter X Games Medals
Christy Barrett has the honor of acquiring the most winter X Games by an individual. She won 10 medals between 1997 and 2001 for snowboard disciplines. She got a gold medal in 1997 for slopestyle, silvers in 1998 and 1999 and bronze medals in 2000 and 2002. For big air accomplishments, she won gold medals in 1997 and again in 1999, silvers in 1998 and 2001. On the superpipe, she took the silver in 2000.
