Nik Wallenda survole Chicago

On 2 November, tightrope walker Nik Wallenda, a brand ambassador and the holder of nine world records, braved Chicago’s windy skies for «Discovery’s Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda».

By the banks of the Chicago River, more than 65,000 enthusiastic spectators turned out to follow every step taken by Wallenda on his high wire. He completed the crossings wearing on his wrist the all-new Terrascope, a special edition featuring a bezel inspired by the wire on which he performs his exploits.

The first crossing took Nik Wallenda from one bank of the Chicago River to the other on a 2.5 cm wide wire inclined at an angle of 19 degrees, between the 180 metre tall Marina Tower East and the Leo Burnett Building 25 metres higher. This feat, achieved in 6 minutes and 52 seconds, in winds gusting at up to 40 km/h, earned him the world record for the steepest tightrope walk. He then performed a second feat by walking from the Marina Tower West to the East tower, a distance of 29 metres at a height of 165 metres, in 1 minute and 17 seconds. He did all this with his eyes covered, thus setting a new world record for the highest tightrope walk while blindfolded. The high-wire king completed his crossings in an impressive time of 8 minutes and 9 seconds without a safety net or a harness.

 

 

November 20, 2014