BASE jumpers leap from world’s tallest building, set record
If you had your sights set on breaking the BASE jumping World Record, you’ll have to go higher than 2,717 feet now.
BASE jumpers Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet claimed the title when they leaped from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai — the world’s tallest building.
And it’s something they’ve dreamed about doing for a while.
“When I came the first time to Dubai three years ago and saw the tower, I was like, this is the dream,” Reffet says in the video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday.
The video continues with Fugen explaining why they do what they do, and then they jump.
“We don’t like to scare ourselves, you know, it’s not the goal,” Fugen says. “It’s not the goal. People think that you BASE jump because you’re crazy, you like to get scared. But we like to fly, you know, we like to have fun.”
The BASE jumping pair jumped from the very tip of the tower, followed by a camera person, and gracefully made their way down, flying around the tower a few times before releasing their parachutes.
As soon as they land, they celebrate with cheers and a hug.
“This dream that we made happen is the achievement of all these years of training and competing and friendship,” Ruffet says.
Contact Kira Terry at kterry@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kiraterry
