&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Tom Kopke sets world record solving Rubik’s Cube mid-air in 23 seconds")
A 23-year-old German influencer, Tom Kopke, officially broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to solve a rotating puzzle cube while in freefall. On February 17, 2026. He completed the solve in just 23.333 seconds while skydiving over Mossel Bay, South Africa. This performance surpassed the previous record of 28.250 seconds, which had been set by Sam Sieracki of Australia in 2023. He began solving the cube just after jumping from the plane. He faced terminal velocity winds exceeding 100 mph and solved the cube just before landing.
Kopke, a medical student, began cubing at 18 and spent years practising unusual challenges, including solving six cubes underwater. He had earlier created a video where he mentioned his desire to solve the Rubik's Cube while diving. Tom explained that learning skydiving had long been on his list, particularly because he wanted to create more ambitious content involving aerial challenges. Taking on a world record attempt early in that journey gave his training a clear purpose. He pursued a skydiving license specifically to make high-stakes videos, choosing this world record attempt to give his training a clear purpose.
Kopke noted that the most dangerous moment was the "handover" of the cube in the air and admitted that while his record is 23 seconds, he once hit an 18-second pace during practice before losing focus. Tom has previously solved six Rubik's Cubes underwater, tying with a Guinness World Record title. The recent official record for solving the most rotating puzzles underwater is 16, and it is held by Daryl Tan Hong An from Singapore.
