# Skateboarder breaks downhill speed record **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941 "2026-10-18T16:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/1 "2026-10-18T16:11:24Z")
A Red Bull-sponsored skateboarder just broke the downhill speed record, exceeding **94 mph**. On a skateboard. > **[Diego Poncelet sets downhill skateboarding world record at 94.34mph](https://www.redbull.com/us-en/diego-poncelet-downhill-skateboard-world-record)** > > How fast can you really go on a skateboard? Diego Poncelet spent years preparing to find out – then put everything on the line in Canada. I can’t even imagine going that fast on a skateboard. As I noted [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-fastest-youve-ever-gone-on-a-bicycle/41515/35), I hit 63 mph on a road bicycle once, and that was terrifying. I used to skateboard a lot as a teenager, mostly for transportation in lieu of a bicycle. I got pretty good at it, but once inadvertently found myself going down a long, fairly steep hill with no easy way to stop or slow down. (No brakes on a skateboard.) When I realized how fast I was going (probably 20 mph), I started trying to put my foot down to slow down…and promptly took a tumble which caused some nerve damage in my right arm that lasted a few months. I’m lucky I didn’t get a head injury, as this was before routine helmet use. (I didn’t start wearing a helmet for activities like this until I got to college.) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/2 "2026-10-18T17:19:36Z")
I just realized the video in that link is pretty long. Here’s a news story (gift link) with a much shorter embedded video: **[This is how it feels to skateboard at 94mph: ‘It’s a beautiful fear’](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7692317/2026/10/16/diego-poncelet-world-record-skateboarding-speed/?unlocked_article_code=1.JlE.bwRY.RW2QBSDFJ-Ma&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta)** ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/3 "2026-10-18T17:37:53Z")
I saw that a few days ago. Insane. Basically no protection other than the helmet and hand pucks. The phrase “meat crayon” comes to mind, but he pulled it off! ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/4 "2026-10-18T17:42:06Z")
I don’t know which aspect of that was more terrifying, apart from the speed. That the road had curves, or that he was being closely followed by a chase car? Presumably the car would have been rigged to brake before running over him in the event of a fall, but still… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/5 "2026-10-18T18:05:09Z")
Maybe it’s my anti-spam, but I see no video in your second cite to Athletic. Unrelated to the above … > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > That the road had curves, or that he was being closely followed by a chase car? Presumably the car would have been rigged to brake before running over him in the event of a fall, but still… The vid in the first post shows a crash at 17 seconds in. The car stops a little quicker in time and a lot shorter in distance than the skater does. Assuming the driver is paying attention, this isn’t a hard problem to solve. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/6 "2026-10-18T18:13:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Maybe it’s my anti-spam, but I see no video in your second cite to Athletic. It’s partway down the page. Here’s a direct link: > (Unfortunately it’s a Xitter link. I don’t have an account—and refuse to get one—but I can see it, so hopefully you can as well.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skateboarder-breaks-downhill-speed-record/1033941/7 "2026-10-18T18:24:56Z")
Thank you. Yep, my defenses include blocking absolutely everything on twitter / X. And Facebook. So I saw a bare link to there and skipped right over it. Your cite just above has the heading, intro sentence, the url, and a big empty white box. That’s all on me; thanks for trying to be helpful. The long vid in the Red Bull article was pretty darn impressive.