Björn Dunkerbeck starts twelve years at the top

In 1988 Björn Dunkerbeck, then nineteen, won the overall world title on the professional tour. He won it again the next year, and every year after that until 1999: twelve overall titles in a row, a record listed by Guinness World Records.

The titles from 1988 to 1995 were awarded by the riders’ own association, the PBA, and from 1996 by the PWA. Counting the titles in the separate disciplines as well, Dunkerbeck collected 42 world championship titles in his career.

He was born in Denmark to a Dutch father and a Danish mother, grew up on Gran Canaria and raced under the sail number ESP-11, so different sources give him different nationalities. On the water it made no difference: for more than a decade, whoever wanted to be world champion had to beat him.