Linda Potgieter, a 50-year-old woman, broke a world record by bungee jumping 23 times in one hour - or one jump every two minutes. According to the Guinness World Records (GWR), she broke the record for most bungee jumps in one hour outdoors (20+ metre cord). The record-breaking attempt took place at South Africa's highest bridge, Bloukrans Bridge, which is 216 metres above Bloukrans River. Ms Potgieter broke the record set 19 years ago by another South African, Veronica Dean, at the same location.
Ms Potgieter received training from Eugene Eloff to get in shape in order to prepare for the record attempt. As reported by GWR, despite putting the 50-year-old through her paces in the gym, Mr Eloff acknowledged that the challenge was "90 per cent in the head and 10 per cent physical."
"On the day of Linda's official attempt, she showed no hesitation while harnessing up atop Bloukrans Bridge. As she stepped off the platform and hurtled towards the river below, arms spread like an eagle, her one-hour timer began," GWR said on their official website. At the 23-minute mark, she finished her tenth jump, putting her on course to smash the previous record.
Performing such a sport non-stop for a whole hour requires a lot of core strength and cardiovascular fitness. Soon she began to tire herself out. "The high altitude and non-stop jumping had worn her down, but adrenaline kept her going," the website further said.
As soon as she equalled the previous record, Ms Potgieter faced difficulty in standing, the website further states. However, the determined woman continued, making attempts to break the old record. She completed her 23rd bungee jump with just a minute left.
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Talking to GWR, the new world record holder commented, "All glory goes to my God. It's because of him. Thank you to my husband and my kids. I'm just grateful. I need to puke in a minute."
GWR's official adjudicator Sofia Greenacre said, "It was really the epitome of record-breaking. I've never seen anything quite like it and I think this record might have reached its peak now. It's going to be really, really tricky to see it beaten."
