World Record for Slackline Walk Was 'Total Serendipity Moment'

Guinness World Records has officially recognized the highest slackline walk, at more than twice the height of the world's tallest building. Brazilian daredevil Rafael Zugno Bridi claimed the record after crossing a 59-foot slackline suspended between two hot-air balloons some 6,236 feet, or nearly 1.2 miles, above Praia Grande in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on Dec. 2. The International Slackline Association verified the altitude—more than twice the height of the Burj Khalifa—before Guinness awarded Bridi the record, per UPI.

Guinness shared a video of the feat on Monday, showing Bridi crossing the slackline barefoot above a sea of white clouds. "The feeling of floating and freedom has always been one of the biggest motivations," though "a small mistake could have caused a catastrophe," Bridi said after the feat, per the Daily Mail. Luckily, "it was a total serendipity moment where everything lined up amazingly." Indeed, Bridi said he was so "fully focused" that he couldn't recall what was going through his head at the time. (More world record stories.)