Toying WITH NATURE

Nic von Rupp still possesses the school books he repeatedly defaced in class: doodles of breaking waves scattered across the pages. He would infuriate teachers with the stock answer when asked about his career plans for the future.

“I only ever wanted to be a pro surfer,” says the Portuguese native, a decade after realising that dream. But while the aspiration was to surf the smaller, competition waves – a discipline making its Olympic debut later this year – now the chase is not gold, but the biggest wave imaginable.

The 29-year-old is among an eclectic mix of surfers aiming to become the first to successfully tackle a 100-foot wave, a sporting achievement as unthinkable as the sub-two-hour marathon once was, before Eliud Kipchoge’s achievement last year on the streets of Vienna.

At present,