Auckland teen Hugo Wigglesworth has soared to new heights after reclaiming the world record for the highest kite surfing jump.
The 19-year-old took flight 40m - equivalent to a 10-storey building - in the air where he almost went upside down with 13 seconds of hangtime before making a clean landing back in the water to complete the highest jump ever recorded in kite surfing history.
He achieved the feat at Kite Beach, about 20 minutes north of Cape Town and was buoyed by the strong south-easterly winds in the region, known as the Cape Doctor, where winds peaked over 40 knots (about 74kmh) during his time on the water.
“In the air itself, I knew [the jump] was up there over 35m, but you never know exactly.
“Once I landed, my watch told me the score and 40m popped up so it was pretty special seeing that number pop up.”
It was a triumphant moment when Wigglesworth reclaimed the record he had lost 43 days prior.
In September last year, he entered the record books with a 36.7m jump at Wellington’s Plimmerton Beach, but he was surpassed by France’s Charles Brodel, who reached 37.17m in Porto Pollo, Italy.
But now Wigglesworth has bragging rights again, which caps off a stunning year on the water where he was crowned Hydrofoil Big Air world champion in his first season on tour.
“Since I lost the record, I’ve been like eyeing up like a windy day to give it a go,” Wigglesworth told the Herald.
The record was not set during a competition event, but the data is tracked by sports technology company WOO, which uses a small device to automatically record the height and air time of your jumps.
Over 150 million jumps have been recorded, but none have ever surpassed 40m.
“It’s definitely a bit of an adrenaline sport,” Wigglesworth said. “It’s pretty unreal doing flips and the feeling of flying is something I like.”
Wigglesworth started kite surfing after his parents got into the sport and he hasn’t looked back since.
It’s taken him all around the world to countries like Cape Verde, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Competitions have a waiting window of usually at least two weeks where they have to wait for optimal conditions to get out on the water.
“Living in New Zealand’s not the easiest because most of the competitions are overseas,” Wigglesworth said.
“If I want to go to that competition, I usually head to Europe and find a windy destination for training.
“The most popular one’s probably Tarifa, Spain, and then this time of year, during the summer of the Southern Hemisphere, Cape Town’s the best.”
Wigglesworth is hoping to compete in more events in 2026 and claim more titles on the world stage.
But he is wary of the talent of other competitors as he is curious to know how long his record will stand.
“Getting to that 40m mark has been quite a challenge for everyone,” Wigglesworth said.
“A lot of it’s to do with the gear and how it’s getting better. I’m sure in the future, not just me, but other people will be able to go a lot higher, just because of the new designs.”
The road to 50m starts now.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.