Russian parachutist and extreme athlete Sergey Boytsov has written his name in history, setting a new absolute world record for the highest parachute jump from a hot air balloon.
The professional athlete jumped from the basket of a giant hot air balloon at the border of the stratosphere – from the unprecedented height for this class of devices of 11,551 meters.
During his dizzying descent in the Altai Territory, Boytsov overcame extreme weather conditions and reached a maximum freefall speed of 501 km/h (over 310 mph). With this feat, he improved the previous world record, held by Polish athletes who had jumped from a height of 10,060 meters in previous years.
Proudly raised flag a step from Space
Unique footage, shared on social networks and quoted by world media, shows how seconds before the dangerous jump, Boytsov proudly holds the Russian national flag high above the clouds, standing on the very edge of the basket. The performance was specially planned and dedicated to the Day of the State Flag of the Russian Federation (August 22), as well as in support of the upcoming International Youth Festival.
„The air at this altitude is four times thinner, and temperatures drop to freezing minus 59 degrees Celsius“, technical experts shared with the international video news platform Viory. To survive in the stratosphere, Boytsov used a specialized high-altitude suit and an autonomous oxygen system.
Two and a half minutes of free fall
The entire mission was prepared for months by a team of nearly 100 specialists, including engineers, meteorologists and pilots. The balloon with a volume of 10,000 cubic meters was personally piloted by Ivan Menyailo – President of the Russian Federation of Aeronautical Sports and a confirmed world champion.
After the balloon reaches the planned height of over 11 kilometers, Boytsov steps into the abyss. His free fall lasts exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The sports ace opens his main parachute only about 1,565 meters above the ground. The entire descent from the stratosphere to the successful landing in the Ust-Kalmansk region took exactly 7 minutes and 19 seconds.
In addition to Boytsov's record, the balloon itself also registered a new peak for the altitude of a hot air balloon flight, improving the previous record of 10,678 meters set by Fyodor Konyukhov and Ivan Menyailo.