Extreme Sport (1st Group)

The practitioners of extreme sports are not afraid of dying. They are afraid of not living. By pushing limits and confronting dangers they feel reborn.

Risks are taken for a variety of reasons: to get away from stress or one’s routine, a taste for adventure, fascination with nature. “Adrenalin addiction” explains the rest. Whatever the reason, extreme sports continue to gain more and more fans.

Balancing on giant waves, cycling through difficult terrain, whirling on the asphalt, zigzagging through the fury of the water or gliding across the skies: surfing, mountain biking, skating, canoeing and paragliding are the sports that inaugurate this definitive issue dedicated to Extreme Sports.

The art of surfing waves is very ancient. Legend has it that even before the 15th century the Polynesians, from Tahiti to Hawaii, would set to sea on long wooden boards to celebrate religious cults.

After having reached the USA, surfing became established as a sport. Competitions requiring athletes to travel the world on the crest of the best waves, so often depicted by the spectacular images of the sport widely divulged by the media, proliferated.

Cycling down a hill riddled with rocks at 50 Km/hour without knowing what lies around each corner is a feat that requires a robust and versatile bicycle, in addition to a good dose of courage.

Mountain biking was born in the mountains of California in the 70s. It stands out for permitting inhospitable places and extremely difficult routes to be explored on foot or by jeep.

Surfing on the asphalt is not a metaphor. In fact, the invention of skating received its inspiration from the milieu of the 60s on the beaches of California. Some young people had the idea of replicating the concept on land.

A hallmark of urban culture, the sport evolved with vert and U-ramps, where talented athletes perform acrobatics that seem to defy the laws of gravity – as if skates had wings instead of wheels.

Another sport whose origins lie in the mists of time is canoeing. Sculpted out of tree trunks by Native Americans or made from whale bones by Eskimos, the first canoes appeared in North America as a means of transport.

These models gave rise to Canadian canoes and kayaks, both used in modern competitions, held in calm or rough waters, with artificial and natural obstacles.

Flying as always been a part of man’s imaginary – and paragliding represents the culmination of that dream. In France, three decades ago, mountaineers created a gliding structure from traditional parachutes that enabled them to rapidly descend from mountain peaks.

An aircraft of simple appearance, it is in actual fact rather complex, due to its configuration and the specific nature of its materials. It is intended to be used in mild weather conditions and reaches speeds of about 45 km/h.

Be it due to the hosting of prominent competitions or the outstanding performance of its athletes, Portugal is now a must in the international calendar of extreme sports.

The first gold medal in a world canoeing competition and a majestic wave surfed at Nazaré, which made the front cover of the British newspaper The Times, marked 2013.