Have You Seen This? Biggest jump in action sports history
Published at | Updated at
UP IN THE AIR — When is the last time you heard of daredevils and stuntmen setting and breaking world records? Probably not since the era of Evel Knievel for most of us, if we’re honest.
Josh Sheehan, 29, an Australian and professional dirt bike stunt rider, has just completed a stunt that many in-the-know are saying far surpases any stunt Knievel performed — the world’s first triple backflip on a motorcycle.
The jump took place Tuesday, April 28, at Pastranaland in Maryland after over a year of preparations, according to the video description. The prep time is understandable when you think about the many calculations that must be made regarding in the very least the angles of the ramps and the weight of the motorcycle. Heck, any fluctuation in Sheehan’s weight was probably a factor.
Fox Sports reported the more technical aspect of the jump thusly:
“(Sheehan) reached a speed of 60 mph and hit a 37-foot takeoff ramp built at an 81-degree angle. He reached a height of 80 feet while whipping his 200-pound motorcycle around three full revolutions.”
Even with all the precautions available to mankind, a stunt like this can only end two ways, as stated in the video: “roll away on two wheels or roll away on four wheels to the hospital.”
The jump is truly incredible and nerve-wracking, and something you will have to see to believe.
If anyone was going to complete this stunt, it was probably Sheehan, since he’s one of the only stunt riders in the world to complete double backflip jumps regularly, according to his website.
