A man has smashed the world record for the number of bungee jumps completed in a 24-hour period.
Frenchman Francois-Marie Dibon, 44, had a major fear of heights well into his thirties and made his first jump only 11 years ago.
Now, though, he has exceeded the previous one-day record set by New Zealander Mike Heard, who completed 430 leaps at Auckland Harbour Bridge in May 2017.
Mr Dibon, from Paris, went past that figure at 10.30pm on Tuesday, just over 12 hours after beginning his challenge at the Highland Fling Bungee platform at Garry Bridge in Perthshire, overseen by Guinness World Records judge Joanne Brent, who described it as “inspiring”.
Following a 50-minute stop to rest he then jumped through the night, finishing at 10.13am on Wednesday.
By the end of the 24-hour period he had jumped an astonishing 765 times, obliterating the previous record.
Each jump involved plunging 40 metres into a tree-lined gorge towards the River Garry, before the crew winched him back up to the platform using specially adapted mechanics.
Mr Dibon kept himself hydrated with small sips of water and ate handfuls of rice, sweets and ham, supported by 15 local crew members, working in four-hour shifts.
At the end, he and the crew celebrated on the platform by playing Queen’s We Are The Champions.
It was the culmination of months of training and more than five years of planning.
“I did not doubt we could do it,” Mr Dibon said, “not with the team around me from Highland Fling Bungee”.
“We have been building a performance for some time. We were lucky and blessed that it worked well,” he said.
He added: “When I knew it was the last jump, I actually wanted to keep going. I don’t feel the tiredness yet. I feel the excitement of completing this record with the team. I still feel the collective energy. The tiredness will catch up later.”
The crew replaced the elasticated bungee cord for safety reasons during the 50-minute break.
Before beginning his challenge, Mr Dibon, who currently lives in Stockholm, said he was “happy and in the present” and got off to a good start, making some smooth jumps despite the presence of light showers.
He has described what he does as a team effort, saying it is not just an individual extreme sport – it’s an endurance sport which is collective”.
He added: “I am just the jumper. I am surrounded by fantastic Scottish and British people.
“We are all working together to ensure safety, jump counting, so really it is a team endeavour.”
