50-Year-Old Woman Bungee Jumps 23 Times In An Hour To Set Guinness World Record
Update: 2022-11-08 15:18 IST
50-year-old South African Linda Potgieter increased that total by 23 in the course of an hour, shattering the previous Guinness World record for the most bungee jumps made outside (20+ metre cord) in a single time period.
The Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa's highest bridge, is located 216 metres (708 feet) above the Bloukrans River, where Linda's bungee bonanza took place. It's not surprising that the previous record of 19 had stood unchallenged for 19 years given that this task required a tremendous amount of physical and mental effort. Another South African, Veronica Dean, established it at the same place.
Bungee jumping is a great approach for Linda to overcome her fear and increase her confidence.
Being raised in a number of different homes and coming from an abusive background made Linda's younger self "very afraid," according to Linda. Linda came to the conclusion that she needed to jump out of planes and across bridges. Her two greatest loves in life quickly emerged as skydiving and bungee jumping.
With Eugene Eloff as her trainer, Linda was able to get in shape to the best of her ability in order to prepare for the record attempt. On the day of Linda's official attempt, she climbed Bloukrans Bridge without trepidation and fastened her gear. Her one-hour timer started as she stepped from the platform and sprinted, arms spread like an eagle, for the water below. Linda ran across to the platform for her second jump and was swiftly winched back up. She kept moving quickly, returning to the top after each jump with a big smile on her face.
At the 23-minute mark, Linda finished her eleventh jump, putting her on course to smash the previous record. But after a few hops, she started to clearly fatigue. She was exhausted from the high altitude and constant bouncing, but the adrenaline kept her going.