A new cliff-jumping world record has been set by Laso Schaller, a Brazilian-born adrenaline junkie who has made history by free-falling 58.8m in 3.58 seconds and hitting water at a speed of 123 km/hr, only slightly dislocating his hip on impact.
The Swiss-raised daredevil has now cleared a height taller than the leaning Tower of Pisa, having taken a leap of Cascata del Salto waterfall in Maggia, Switzerland, hitting the water below at a speed above the country’s motorway speed limit.
To make sure his high-dive unfolded without a hitch, Red Bull challenge organizers built a wooded platform so he could steer clear of any rocky walls. To make the landing softer, his team also placed six tanks in the landing pool, which was only 8 meters in depth, to aerate the water.
However, while making a record-setting attempt, Schaller overshot the pool, landing in harsher water, slightly dislocating his hip.
Known for his numerous canyon and waterfall descents, the 27-year-old said that “once you get above 25m, everything starts to look and feel the same.”
“The only difference is the airtime,” he claimed, that is why prior to his epic drop, his team timed the fall’s trajectory using rocks.
On top of a volcano: Insane jump by Chilean daredevil Sebastian Alvarez hits target (VIDEO)
To make his record stand, the Red Bull team placed nearly a dozen cameras from all vantage points around the cascading waterfall, including one on his helmet.
The former world record in high-diving was set by Olivier Favre in 1987 when he cleared a distance of 53.9 m (177 ft).