On Friday, May 9, Guinness World Records made it official: last November, Garrett McNamara rode the largest wave ever surfed.

Officially measured at 78 feet tall, the rogue wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal was over one foot taller than the 2008 wave at Cortes Bank, California surfed by Mike Parsons, the previous record holder.

In February, McNamara spoke with the Adrenalist about getting pulled into the massive wave (thought originally to be 90 feet) and riding it out. “I just went with my instincts and did my best to complement and enjoy it,” he said.

Speaking at the 2012 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards, McNamara was less laid back in describing the record-breaking ride. “It’s the most challenging, dangerous wave I’ve ever surfed,” he said.

Surprisingly, surfing the break off Nazare isn’t the highlight of McNamara’s career. That distinction goes riding out Jaws in Maui, a wave that almost took his life in 2003.

To take home the Guinness World Records double crown of surfing, he may have to revisit Jaws. The legendary Hawaiian break, after all, is where Shane Dorian last year rode a 57-foot crashing monster, the largest wave ever surfed paddle-in.

Cricket’s image as a leisurely, village green game is rather ill-deserved.

When you look at some bowlers and the smoking speed that they generate, often to terrifying effect, their sport leans much more towards extreme. Imagine how it feels to have a cork-core leather cricket ball flung at you at searing velocity. Perhaps over 80 mph.

Here’s a look at some expert fast bowlers who reached or topped that speed. In fact, they bowled so fast that they forced batsmen to start playing deliveries before they even happened.

And you thought football was hard.

1.   Jeff Thomson

Born: 1950

Top speed: 100 mph +

Nicknamed “Thommo”, Aussie quick Jeff Thomson is a byword for lightning bowling.

“I was once timed at 99.97mph, but that’s rubbish. I was miles faster than that,” Thomson once said.

Just to make him even more menacing, he partnered with fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee. Their combo was one of the most daunting in Test cricket history.

Former England bowler Frank “Typhoon” Tyson said that Thomson is so fast and human reaction time so slow that the batsman had to begin playing a stroke against him more than .062 of a second before Thommo unleashed.

Thomson was capable of bowling a bouncer that hit the opposite sight-screen on the full. His technique shows how he generated formidable leverage.

2.   Shoaib Akhtar

Born: 1975

Top speed: 100.2 mph

Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar is widely seen as the fastest bowler in international cricket history.

Akhtar was dogged by scandal but capable of astounding performances.

Akhtar’s best game came against India in 1999. Then, Akhtar captured eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match at Calcutta. His staggering tally included the scalps of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries.

3.   Mohammad Sami

Born: 1981

Top speed: 100 mph

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Sami was initially dubbed the modern Malcolm Marshall by supreme Pakistani all-rounder Imran Khan. That is saying something, given that, according to ESPN, Marshall was perhaps the finest of the West Indies’ many formidable 1980s quicks, “endowed with fierce pace, swing, cut, a vicious bouncer, and above all, the ability to outthink any batsman”.

Mohammad Sami duly began with a bang. In his Test cricket debut against New Zealand in 2001, he nabbed 8 wickets for 106 runs in the match. He never looked back.

4.   Waqar Younis

Born: 1971

Top speed: 95 mph

Waqar Younis had the nifty ability to reverse-swing a cricket ball at blazing speed.

During his heyday, Younis was a machine: absolutely unstoppable. In fact, he could bowl so fast that he broke stumps in half.

The reverse-swing king is widely seen as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Even more impressively, according to ESPN, Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler, with over 350 Test wickets.

5.   Dennis Lillee

Born: 1949

Top speed: 96 mph

Aussie quick Dennis Lillee was a legend. His piratical swagger sharpened the menace of his dazzling deliveries. Together with Jeff Thomson, he struck terror into the hearts of the old enemy, England, unleashing hell on its batsmen.

Better yet, Lillee was involved in the maddest moment in the history of sport. In 1979, British cricketer Peter Willey caught Lillee off the bowling of another quick Graham Dilley.

6.   Michael Holding

Born: 1954

Top speed: 96 mph

Nicknamed “Whispering Death”, West Indies quick Michael Holding played during a golden age for his team. He was one of four pacemen who regularly terrified, paralyzed and devastated all-comers, making the Windies routine world champions.

In 1981, Holding bowled the “fastest over of all time” to dismiss England stalwart Geoffrey Boycott.

“Holding’s seemingly languid run-up was grace personified, but — as his nickname suggests — it generated deliveries of frightening speed,” says the UK’s Daily Telegraph. Watch the Whispering Death steaming in.

To be young is to be daring, to be vital, to be capable of anything. To be old is to be….finished?

No matter how many times we tell our parents and grandparents “You’re young yet. You have your whole life ahead of you!”, we never truly believe they’re capable of doing the things we are. We think adrenaline pumps harder in our veins than it does in theirs.

For some, that may be true. For 104-year-old Guinness World Record holder Margaret McKenzie McAlpine, it certainly is not. The oldest female to paraglide tandem, Margaret shows us that youth truly is a state of mind.

“Be prepared to get scared. Be prepared to get cold. And be prepared to fail.”

Say hello to Saser Kangri II, a monstrous peak located in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. At 7,518 meters (24,665 ft) tall, it is the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world.

No, wait. Scratch that.

It was the second highest unclimbed peak in the world as recently as August 24, 2011.

And then American climbers Mark Richey, Steve Swenson and Freddie Wilkinson topped it.

This nearly 3-minute video is a teaser for The Old Breed, the full-length documentary that chronicles their climb. The documentary premiered March 3, 2012 at the American Alpine Club’s Annual Dinner in Boston. Check out The Old Breed‘s official site to find out where you can catch the film next.

And then?

Grab some crampons and book a flight to Bhutan, home of Gangkhar Puensum (24,836 ft) — the tallest unclimbed mountain in the world.

Somebody’s going to climb it. Why not you?

Ever been up in a hot air balloon? It’s a little scary right? The extreme height, the flame propulsion, the thought of a pointy-beaked bird bringing your flight to an untimely end.

So imagine you’re up in a balloon and a 3-inch-wide bar is connecting it to another balloon. You’re thousands of feet in the air and you have to go from one basket to the other, walking on that teeny, tiny narrow little bar, while wearing an oxygen mask because you’re up too high to breath normally. Oh, and you’re not wearing a harness of any kind. Sound fun?

Apparently it did to Mike Howard, who nabbed the Guinness World Record for Highest Balloon Skywalk. After watching this video, we’re probably not going to challenge his title.

What do the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Golden Gate Bridge have in common? All three are part of a growing list of almost 100 structures that have been ropelessly scaled by the world’s preeminent urban climber, French-born Alain Robert.

Now fifty-years-old, Robert began his climbing career almost forty years ago when, keyless, he maneuvered his way into his parents’ eighth story apartment. Throughout his teenage years and a fall that rendered him partially paralyzed, Robert defied odds and chased his dangerous dream, honing his natural skills in the French Alps’ challenging terrain.

His climbing feats usually commence at dusk or dawn, so as to avoid being stopped on the ground by worried members of law enforcement (Robert’s number of arrests are nearly as vast as his successful ascents). Then, without cables, harnesses, suction cups, or anchors, he relies on nothing but experience and a small bag of climbing powder to conquer the world’s tallest structures. Every window ledge, every metallic protrusion created at the whim of an architect looking to make his mark on a cityscape, becomes a tool for Robert as he makes his own.

On March 28, 2011, Robert climbed the tallest building in the world, Dubai’s 2,717- foot-high Buri Khalifa, in a record-setting six hours and fourteen minutes. (In a rare act of compliance, Robert chose to wear a safety harness for this mission. We don’t blame him.) Most recently, Robert took on the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, Romania.

Despite injuries that have rendered him more than sixty percent disabled and a perseverant vertigo condition, Robert’s five-foot-five, 105-pound frame climbed its way into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 and, with the help of various sponsors, continues to raise significant amounts for charitable and personal coffers.

Now try to keep your heart from beating out of your chest as you watch this video highlighting Robert’s most exciting climbs.

It’s the middle of summer. That means London-based adventurers Alex Hibbert and Andrew Wilkinson must embark upon their record-breaking 350-mile ice cap crossing at night. During the day, the Arctic sun would sap their energy and slow their snow. They’d never make it across Greenland, from the Nagtivit Glacier on the east coast to Point 660 in the west, in under 8 days and 9 hours – a speed record set in 1995 by Norwegian Sjur Mordre.

Hibbert needs conditions on his side. He knows it. During an April attempt, heavy snow made it impossible for his helicopter to land at the starting point. When he pushes off for his second attempt on August 10, there will be less snow. But that snow will be stickier and the weather will barely be more accomodating. Hibbert expects night time temperatures in the negative 20s and hurricane force winds. The British adventurers will have to ski 15 hours and 40 miles per day to make it into the record books.

Let’s hope they have a glow in the dark compass.