ARJEPLOG, Sweden (Reuters) - Former British Olympic skier Graham Bell has set an unusual new world record, achieving the fastest towed speed on skis.
A four-wheel-drive vehicle pulled Bell at 189 kilometres per hour (117 miles per hour) over level snow in the far north of Sweden. The previous record was 112 kilometres per hour.
"Next time, we'll just need a longer track, and we'll go even faster," Graham said.
The record attempt took place in temperatures of -28 degrees Celsius (-18 Fahrenheit) at a test facility in the Arctic Circle owned by Jaguar Land Rover, who provided the vehicle.
The men's record for speed skiing - with the aid only of a slope, rather than a vehicle - is, surprisingly, even faster than Bell's. Italian Ivan Origone reached 254 kilometres (157 miles) per hour downhill in 2016.
Graham was a downhill racer who represented Great Britain at five winter Olympics between 1984 and 1998.
(Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; editing by Andrew Roche)
