Photography courtesy of The official Felix Baumgartner website
Salzburg, Austria’s Felix Baumgartner is becoming one of the most legendary extreme sports artists of all time. He has literally lived his life on the edge and has pushed the boundaries beyond the extreme. Although he has been widely known for his extraordinary Base Jumping skills, he has also trekked into the world of both Free-Flying and Freefall.
Some of the many feats he has claimed so far in his illustrious career
Include many BASE Jumping World Records. In 1999, he Attained the world record for having the highest parachute jump from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpor in Malaysia, jumping a record height of 451 Meters.
He crossed the English Channel strapped with a carbon wing and then later went on to attain another world record by crossing the English Channel through Sky diving Free Fall. He also holds the world record for the lowest parachute dive from the Christ Statue in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil, clearing it in only 29 meters.
As if all that wasn’t enough this daredevil leapt from a plane in Dover at 30,000 feet and landed 22 miles away in Cap Blanc-Nez a mere 14 minutes later, traveling at speeds of over 220 miles per hour. He was only outfitted with an aerodynamic suit with a 6-foot carbon fin strapped to his back, an oxygen tank, and a parachute. Training for this stunt included being strapped to the top of a speeding Porsche.
He also managed to outdo himself by plunging headfirst into Mamet Cave in Croatia’s Velebit National Park, where he managed to free fall and parachute into the interior of the cave and land safely at its bottom. If I tried to outline the entire history of this magnanimous adventurer, I would have to write a book about him. A self-proclaimed “Specialist in risk management” I think Baumgartner has yet to reach his highest challenge, and the world will just have to wait to see what he does next.
EDITORS NOTE:
BASE Jumping is an acronym derived from B (building) A (antennae or television tower) S (span or bridge) and E (earth – cliff or mountain) and is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. BASE jumpers leap from buildings, towers, bridges and cliffs, opening a parachute only in the final seconds. It is a very elite group of athletes, and includes only those who manage a jump from all four types of structures or natural objects and members of this elite group obtain the right to a special number, the 502. BASE jumping is illegal in most countries.
