Published
Update
Video length: 2 min
A record narrowly missed. Estonian tightrope walker Joan Rosse reached Sicily on Thursday 11 July, leaving Calabria on a wire. A feat of 15,660 steps that recalls that of the Frenchman Nathan Paulin.
Suspended in the air 200 meters above sea level in the Strait of Messina, Italy. Joan Rosse, a 32-year-old Estonian, walks like a dancer on his slackline, a 19-millimeter-wide elastic strap stretched between two pylons. According to the tightrope walker, it is “the largest slackline in the world”that measures “3,640 meters” and connects the Italian mainland to Sicily.
A breathtaking crossing of 15,660 steps, which the athlete completed in record time: 2h57. A daring sporting challenge with its share of thrills. Supported by his safety harness, Joan lost his balance just 80 meters from the finish.
Although this incident did not prevent him from reaching his destination, it nevertheless invalidates the new record. Because the feat must be achieved without any falls to be validated. The young Estonian, who became the first man to walk between Sicily and Calabria, is not the only extreme tightrope walker: Frenchman Nathan Paulin had previously reached Mont-Saint-Michel on a wire.