Patrik Diethelm is close to the world speed windsurfing record. The Italian champion peaked at 51.18 knots, a mere 0.87 knots behind the best mark of all time set by Antoine Albeau.
Diethelm has the best windsurfing mark of the 2014 Luderitz Speed Challenge, so far. The performance was achieved in winds ranging from 25-35 knots.
Meanwhile, three national records have fallen. Christian Bornemann sailed at 48.82 knots to break the German mark, Denis Vladimirov clocked at 47.67 knots to improve the Russian speed, and Zoran Jovanovic, from Serbia, raced his kite at 39.4 knots.
Alain de Gendt, from Belgium, has also broken the production board record for his country after sailing at 46.66 knots. Many new personal bests have been improved.
The highlight of the eighth day of competition goes to Thierry Bielak, from France, who smashed his all-time best with an incredible 48.02 knots. He had started the day with his personal best achieved in 1993 (45.34 knots).