Friday, April 9, 2010

  Highest jump above water - world record set by Robbie Maddison

  CORINTH CANAL, Greece -- Sports Australian freestyle motocross star Robbie Maddison, 28, jumped the 279-foot wide Corinth Canal in Greece, at a height of more than 300 feet above the water , setting the world record for the Highest jump above water .

 Photo: Robbie Maddison Jumps Over Corinth Canal In Greece, setting the world record for the Highest jump above water . Photo Red Bull
   ( enlarge photo )

   Maddison rode his Honda 500 through a turn-filled approach past a pool, across a soccer field and past a chicken coop to a speed of 78 mph on Thursday. He accelerated up a ramp and flew across the canal and landed safely on a mound set up on the other side.

    Maddison was 311 feet above the canal's surface at the height of his jump, sponsored by Red Bull.

    Maddison said it was difficult enough getting the approach right despite the constantly changing surfaces, from grass to concrete to wood to asphalt and then carpet. He also had to deal with nerves.

    "Jumping across the Corinth Canal has become in my mind a challenge I just could not resist," he said. "This jump involved the highest consequences I have faced so far, so the first obstacle I had to overcome was my fear. I believe you have to take risks in life to become wiser, and facing a challenge like this will help get me ready for the next feat I will face. I am thrilled I managed to pull it off. As you know, there is only one opportunity to get it right."

   Many motocrossers have wanted to jump across the Corinth Canal, which was built in 1893. But the Australian was the first to succeed.

   Maddison has become famous for his jumps. In 2009 he performed a backflip across London's Tower Bridge, and lept 30m on to a replica Arc de Triomph in Las Vegas.

   In 2008, he broke the world motorcycle jumping record twice in the same night when he leapt 107m during the Crusty Demons Night of World Records show in Melbourne.

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