French jet skier Franky Zapata smashes world hoverboard flight record

The record for farthest hoverboard flight, set last year by a Canadian, has been smashed by a French Jet Ski champion.

Franky Zapata, 37, flew a distance of 2,252 metresaboard the Flyboard Air, reaching as high as 50 metres above the ocean off the coast of Sausset-le-Pins in southern France on Saturday, confirmed Guinness World Records. The Flyboard Air was developed by Zapata's company Zapata Racing.

Zapata said he had been dreaming of making such a flight for five years.

"But nobody believed it was possible not even me," he said in Zapata Racing's official video of the feat. "It's just one of the best moments of my life."

The previous world record for longest hoverboard flight was 275.9 metres. It was set last year by Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru.

"He beat the record by some margin," said Sofia Greenacre of Guinness World Records, who called the event a "phenomenal sight to see."

The company said it is still a prototype and won't be on the market in 2016.

The company currently sells the hoverboard-like Flyboard Pro series and Hoverboard by ZR, designed to fly over the water, powered by water turbines attached to a hose. It also sells a hose-linked jetpack for use over water.

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