Estonian slackliner Jaan Roose added another thrilling world record to his legacy on Friday, September 18 when he covered 14.7km along a 666-metre-long line 100 metres above the Danube River starting at dawn and finishing at dusk 12 hours later in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. Here is all you need to know:
Roose, 34, is a three-time world slackline champion, the first and only athlete to perform a double backflip on a slackline and the holder of numerous world records.
His breathtaking projects have included the Strait of Messina crossing in 2024 as well as slacklining between the iconic Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai and traversing the Bosphorus Strait from the Asian side of Istanbul to the European side.
This latest project took him to Bratislava and a dawn-until-dusk attempt between two of its most iconic landmarks – the UFO observation tower and Bratislava Castle.
Roose set off at 7:15am on a line just 1.9cm wide for a challenge that nobody in the world had ever attempted in this form with the rising sun and a gentle morning mist over the Danube as an atmospheric backdrop.
He revealed, „The morning was magical as I made my way through the morning mist. I was surprised by the pigeons flying around in gangs. The first three hours went really fast and I don’t even know where the time went, but then it started to drag on and I could feel pain throughout my whole body.”
Roose had warned that chafing, blisters or repeatedly placing a foot incorrectly could – after several hours – have a major impact on every subsequent step forward.
With the hours ticking by into the afternoon, fatigue started to set in. He added, „My feet started hurting and I had to change my shoes because I had blisters, then the intense heat came. The wind was weaker than I had expected, so I had to keep changing my shirt and drinking constantly.”
Not only that, the slackline stretched above one of the busiest parts of the city. Cars and boats moved beneath Roose, the wind shifted around him and the sounds of the city accompanied every metre.
Despite the physical and mental obstacles, Roose held his nerve to go far beyond anything he had ever slacklined before as the most he had ever achieved was six hours on the line during training.
He explained, „One of the hardest things was blocking out all the auditory distractions. From time to time, I listened to music. Above all, I had to deal with my own mind and, of course, physically.”
Tens of thousands of people followed Roose in Bratislava and online with the Hollywood stuntman finishing back at the UFO where he started 12 hours later with dusk coming down over the city.
He said, „People were cheering me on at Bratislava Castle right from the beginning and I was really surprised that it continued throughout the entire day. I’m very grateful for that.”
After completing 22 lengths and 14.7km over the 12 hours, he declared: „It is definitely my greatest endurance achievement. I’m incredibly happy that I completed the full 12 hours. That’s what I’m really happy about – that I didn’t stop earlier. I don’t even walk that far on the ground.”
Watch Roose take on the Strait of Messina on Red Bull TV HERE.
Explore more Slacklining content HERE.
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Luksusowy kwartalnik turystyczno-podróżniczy. Od 2004 roku opisujemy miejsca, do których warto lecieć dłużej niż na weekend, i ludzi, którzy je prowadzą.
