Girardot beats Charlon’s world record

The brand of Vaudois Lucien Charlon did not stay at the top for long. Established in August in Switzerland, his world record for the “death dive” has just been beaten by a Frenchman.

Franco-Swiss Lucien Charlon, student at EPFL, is no longer the world record holder for the “death dive”, this spectacular discipline, called “døds” in Norway where it was born. Reserved for daredevils, “death diving” consists of simulating a flat course, but coming together at the last moment, just before entering the water, in order to mitigate the violence of the impact.

Charlon had signed a dive of 41.7 meters last August. He threw himself into the Orbe from the top of the Day viaduct, in the town of Vallorbe, to capture the world record. His performance in an exceptional natural setting was breathtaking.

But on Monday in Spain, Côme Girardot improved this mark, and not just a little. The Frenchman plunged from a 44.3 meter cliff in Aldeaquemada in Andalusia. His jump lasted three seconds and allowed him to reach the crazy speed of 106km/h.

This feat should not make us forget that the “death dive” is a risky practice. If the jump is not technically perfect, “entering the water can hurt a lot,” the Frenchman explained last year to West Franceafter improving a previous record. Girardot then dived in Fleury in the South of France and this did not please the mayor of the town. The latter had denounced a “totally unconscious” act at the microphone of France 3.

The councilor had announced his intention to file a complaint for “non-compliance with a municipal decree” and “endangering others”. An approach that Côme Girardot did not expect. “To say that I put people in danger is false. In the video released on Riding ZoneI’m talking about my preparation, my training and that we must not reproduce that,” specified the French athlete. No wonder therefore that the diver this time chose Spain to achieve his new feat, and beat the Vaudois world record.

Girardot, Charlon and the Norwegian Ken Stornes are the only high-flying dodsers to have crossed the 40 meter barrier. They have been chasing records for several months and have significantly increased the world’s best brand. The 44.3 meters achieved on Monday by the Frenchman could therefore be exceeded in the near future.

(roc)

On Tuesday, the Schwyz resident spoke for the first time since the death of her brother, who died of cancer in February. She promotes a documentary that he made and which has a social aim.

This is an extremely unusual request. Before Wendy Holdener addresses the media on Tuesday afternoon as part of a Swiss Ski day in Dübendorf (ZH), all cameras must be turned off. The 31-year-old young woman certainly wishes to speak for the first time in public and in complete frankness about death in February of his brother and closest confidant, Kevinbut she doesn’t want to be filmed.