LES ÉBOULEMENTS, Quebec — Diego Poncelet Sanchez-Cuenca topped out at 151.83 km/h (94.34 mph) on a closed stretch of road here on Sept. 22, setting a new Guinness World Record for the fastest standing downhill skateboard speed — on the same 2.5-kilometer hill where the previous mark had stood since 2017.
That old record, 146.73 km/h (91.17 mph), belonged to British rider Peter Connolly. Poncelet, a Spanish downhill skateboarder born in Mexico City and raised between Spain and Switzerland, made seven timed runs down the hill on record day, with three of them topping Connolly's mark before his fastest run sealed the new standard.
Poncelet spent time training in a wind tunnel in Geneva to refine his tuck position before the attempt, and rode a standard skateboard deck fitted with a carbon-fiber aerodynamic kit — approved in advance by the sport's governing body, World Skate — designed to divert wind around his feet. He also wore a custom suit built for the run, and held off for better conditions on the day itself, waiting roughly six hours between his first attempt and his record-breaking one as the wind shifted in his favor.
This was one of the most impressive feats I have ever seen.
— Andrew Glass, Guinness World Records adjudicator
Glass, who officiated the attempt, said Poncelet moved so fast down the hill that he was barely visible passing the timing gates. Downhill skateboarding speed records are typically set on long, gently curving roads that let riders tuck into a stable position and build speed over more than a mile; the Quebec hill has now hosted the discipline's record twice.
Poncelet's run drew backing from Porsche and Prada, with a Porsche trailing him down the hill to film the attempt. Having reclaimed the title from his friend Connolly, Poncelet said he had trained specifically for the chance to take the record on the same road where it was first won.