GPS technology has been used to measure the speed and movements of some of the best surfers at the Gold Coast Quiksilver Pro.

A GPS device fixed to boards measured speed and movement.

The technology from firm SBOX was first tested at the Xcel Pro Showdown at Supertubes, South Africa.

The company eventually hopes to create 3D terrain digital maps for surfers to study their performance.

Mick Fanning clocked in as the fastest surfer at the Quiksilver Pro at over 39 km/h. In second place was Joel Parkinson with 34.6 km/h, and ten-time world champion Kelly Slater recorded speeds of 32 km/h.

Parkinson rode the most distance with 3996 metres.

An analysis of the data can be found here.