Nik Wallenda set world record for tightrope walk across Niagara Falls

Nik Wallenda set world record for tightrope walk across Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, — When Nik Wallenda sets out for his tightrope walk over Niagara Falls late Friday, he’ll be adding another chapter to his family’s storied daredevil history which dates back more than two centuries. Wallenda has said he is disappointed he is being made to wear a tether by the event’s sponsor, ABC, since his family has performed over the years without such safety precautions.

All signs are pointing to "go" for Nik Wallenda's dramatic attempt tonight to become the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

Crowds are beginning to gather for a good viewing spot for the spectacle. The Niagara Parks Commission estimates that the Canadian side of the Falls could be jammed with 120,000 people by the time the slow-moving action gets underway.

                                         Tightrope walk across Niagara Falls Picture
Wallenda told CTV this morning that he's ready for the historic walk and feels like "a kid on Christmas morning."

If he's successful, Wallenda would become the first tightrope walker to do his thing over the base of the Falls. Several others have crossed over the Niagara Gorge just downstream from the Falls more than a century ago.

In the last few days, the 33-year-old daredevil has been practising his craft and overseeing the installation of a five-centimetre-wide steel wire cable that has been strung 60 metres above the churning waters.

Tonight's weather forecast for Niagara Falls calls for clear skies and a temperature of around 20 C at the scheduled walk time. But since he'll be so close to the plunging waters, he'll likely have to deal with misty conditions.

Wallenda, who hails from a long line of high-wire artists, will begin his 500-metre-long stroll from the American side shortly after 10 p.m. ET tonight.

Nik Wallenda set world record for tightrope walk across Niagara Falls Video.

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Nik Wallenda - Highest bicycle ride without a safety net set Guinness World Record

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas --Suspended more than 26 stories above the ground between the Royal Towers of Atlantis, Paradise Island and The Cove, Nik Wallenda, The King of The High Wire, made two death-defying stunts and at the same time broke the current Guinness World Record for highest bicycle ride (without a safety net) on August 28, 2010.

A seventh generation high wire and aerialist star, Wallenda traveled by bicycle over 100 feet from the West to East Towers at Atlantis while suspended 260 feet with a breathtaking view of the world’s largest open-air marine habitat and the turquoise ocean of The Bahamas. The feat saw Wallenda break his previous World Record set in 2008 at 135 feet high from the roof of the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey.

Nik’s performance was a welcomed delight to the thousands of Atlantis, Paradise Island guests who got a first hand view of history in the making. In addition to his Guinness Book of World Records bicycle stunt, Nik Wallenda also set a personal record by walking a distance of just under 2000 feet from the West Tower to The Cove Atlantis at an unbelievable and terrifying height of 250 feet above Aquaventure, the non-stop water experience, containing 7 million gallons of water and thrilling water slides. Nik called it, ‘the longest walk of his life’.

This particular attempt for the King of the High Wire was not without its challenges as Wallenda’s father, a former tight rope walker himself, suffered from heat exhaustion while rigging the wire for his son’s ambitious walk and was not able to witness his son’s brave attempt. Even rain and the threat of lightening didn’t seem to phase the brave King of the High Wire whose feats were well documented by the Discovery Channel and are set to air at later date.

The large crowd gasped as Nik, once again without a safety net and without any safety harnesses, slowly made the magnificent trek between two of the property’s most iconic buildings. With what seemed like a sense of pure calm and delight, he paced himself in a feat that took less than 20 minutes.

After completing the walk, some of it on an incline, Nik talked about the experience. He said it was actually the first time he’d completed a walk without his father, who is his Chief Rigger, present.  “I did this for my dad. I could have decided to quit considering what happened to him minutes before I was set to go; however, I knew he would have wanted me to continue and as a performer, the show must go on,” he stated casually.

Wallenda’s precision and skills can be traced back to his legendary Great Wallendas roots. In 1780, the ancestral Wallenda family traveled as a circus troupe of acrobats, jugglers, clowns, aerialists and animal trainers with the next two generations adding the flying trapeze.

Nik Wallenda broke the current Guinness World Record for highest bicycle ride (without a safety net). (Photo by Craig Lenihan)Photo 1: Nik Wallenda also set a personal record by walking a distance of just under 2000 feet from the West Tower to The Cove Atlantis at an unbelievable and terrifying height of 250 feet above Aquaventure, the non-stop water experience, containing 7 million gallons of water and thrilling water slides. Nik called it, ‘the longest walk of his life’. (Photo by Tim Clarke)

Photo 2: A seventh generation high wire and aerialist star, Wallenda traveled by bicycle over 100 feet from the West to East Towers at Atlantis. (Photo by Craig Lenihan)

Photo 3: Nik Wallenda broke the current Guinness World Record for highest bicycle ride (without a safety net).


Highest bicycle ride without a safety net set Guinness World Record by Nik Wallenda stunts video.

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