July 17 - Kent, United Kingdom
Lena Meringdal a 24 year old woman from The Netherlands successfully broke a world record by skateboarding 425.5 km or 264.4 miles in 24 hours. This has been verified by SkateIDSA and added to their official records.
This astounding feat was accomplished at UK Ultraskate, a 24 hour event in Kent, England. Ultraskate events originated in the Pacific Northwest but have spread across the globe in the last 20 years. In their modern form, they take place on closed, measured courses with timing systems in place making them perfect for pursuing world records for an elite few. Similar events take place in Miami, The Netherlands, and Singapore where athletes from all over the world come to compete. Efforts to standardize rules and record keeping for such events are led by SkateIDSA, the international governing body for the growing sport.
“After a round of internal review, we can confirm that Lena’s performance on July 13-14 2024 is a new Women’s World Record. It has been verified that the course was measured with our approved method and device at 2.096km. The timing system for the event meets our standard and there were plenty of witnesses on the track including other SkateIDSA board members. On behalf of the organization, I can confidently say congratulations to Lena on being the new women’s 24 hour world record holder.” Lennart Van de Peppel - SkateIDSA Rules & Measurement Lead
A growing, passionate bunch of Ultraskaters have been chasing world records for over two decades. The previous Women's World Record was set in 2017 at the Dutch Ultraskate at 422km by Saskia Tromp. The longest running event, Miami Ultraskate hosts several hundred participants at a Homestead Miami Speedway, will celebrate it's 13th year in 2025. New events such as UK Ultraskate and Singapore 1/4 Ultraskate have helped athletes have more opportunities to break personal and world records.
“HUGE Congrats to Lena! This world record stood for 7 years because it’s such a massive accomplishment. It takes so much dedication and training to get to this level. I can’t think of a person in the community that brings more positive energy on four wheels, having a world record is the icing on the cake for Lena who has already accomplished so much in a short period of time. I’m also really thrilled with our new board-recommended measurement and verification process. It enabled us to unequivocally verify this is a new world record extremely quickly. Hopefully this inspires more women to join us on the track at Ultraskates. Next stop 300 miles" Scott Ziegler - Skate IDSA Communications Lead
In addition participating in long distance skateboard races, Lena also produces her own specialized boards and owns a growing brand with customers across the globe. During her skate she was supported by family and teammates.
“We tend to look up to individuals for what they’ve accomplished. But it’s a matter of fact that Ultraskates are never just an individual accomplishment. It is a group effort. The support crew, all the skaters that skated with me and the small but beautiful encounters I had with so many of you made this Ultraskate what it is: a new world record! My special thanks goes out to: Paul, Florian, Viola, Michael, Sandra, Jimmy, Wiggles, my mom and my dad. It’s very special to me that this record was broken using my own developed boards and trucks (Melonenkacke longboards). It took many years of R&D to completely optimize them for LDP. MelonenKacke boards and trucks are durable, fast, and efficient. The extra challenging UK Ultraskate was the perfect event to showcase MelonenKacke’s performance.” Lena Meringdal - World Record Holder, Skateboard Builder, All Around Rad Person
About SkateIDSA
SkateIDSA was founded in 2011 to create a framework of standardized rules for competitive events and shortly after began recordkeeping of official results and verified world records. The organization exists to promote health and wellness by engaging more people to discover lesser-known skateboarding disciplines such as long distance, SSUP and pumptrack racing around the world.