A blindfolded Nik Wallenda balanced carefully on a wire strung between two Chicago skyscrapers during two high-wire walks he made Sunday that broke world records.
In the first walk, the 35-year-old daredevil member of the “Flying Wallenda” acrobats walked on a 19-degree incline for two city blocks on a wire 50 stories over the Chicago River, without a harness. His second walk, blindfolded, was much shorter, but still daringly high above the crowds that gathered to see him.
The walks and Wallenda’s preparations for the walks were televised by The Discovery Channel for “Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda.”
Entertainment Weekly said Discovery's Wallenda program drew 6.7 million viewers.
Guinness World Records saidon the show that Wallenda broke the records for high-wire walk on an incline and highest blindfolded high-wire walk.
In an interview with Discovery, Wallenda talked about his faith, attributing his belief in God for keeping him humble, grounded, and helping him to stay calm.
“Whether it be that time that my parents were struggling financially or the time I was walking across the Grand Canyon, I talk to God and that’s how I stay calm and cool and collected,” Wallenda said.
Many watching tweeted photos and comments during Wallenda’s risky walks.
"The bloke's got a pair," David Mitchell, a London visitor to Chicago told Reuters as he watched Wallenda walk Sunday. "But who knows? It might actually be easier for him to do this blindfolded. He's going to be more focused this way."
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