- The 22-year old hit the water at a speed of 106 km per hour
This is the stomach-churning moment a French daredevil broke the world death diving record after jumping off a 144ft-high cliff.
Come Girardot, 22, jumped off La Cimbarra waterfall near the town of Aldeaquemada in central Spain in extremely windy conditions in an attempt to break the Dods Diving world record – the original Norwegian style of death diving.
The Bordeaux native shared a video of the death-defying dive on social media, in which he can be seen plunging off a cliff-edge and into the water.
‘Joining the 40 [meter] club has been my goal since my last world record at 36 meters and after planning this for eight months, with its ups and downs, it has finally happened’, he wrote in an Instagram post.
According to CorriereTV, the dive only lasted three seconds, and he dropped feet-first at a speed of around 106 km per hour.
Frenchman Come Girardot broke the world death diving record by plunging 144 ft off a cliff into a body of water
The jump can be seen in a stomach-churning video posted to the diver’s social media
Speaking to MailOnline, Girardot, who has been diving for the last five years, said that the months leading up to his record-breaking dive have been ‘really intense’, explaining how his training required him to dive every day so that his body would get used to the impact.
He added that the most challenging part of the whole dive was the countdown before the jump, explaining how he faced mental difficulties as well as physical.
‘Once you count to three, there is no going back and you just have to jump’.
‘Also, the wind was really challenging because it was very windy that day and there was a big gust’, he said, explaining how it affected his focus.
Girardot also told MailOnline that he has documented the journey leading up to his big dive in a film that will be featured on YouTube.
When asked what is next for him now that he has broken a world record, he said is open to ‘trying a bigger jump in the future’.
The previous Dods diving world record had been set in August by Lucien Charlon from Switzerland, who jumped from a height of 136.81 ft.
Dods diving is an extreme sport that was started in Norway
Dods diving (which means death in Norwegian) was invented in Norway in 1969.
According to SurferToday.com, it differs from regular high diving because instead of having the diver’s feet hit the water first, divers will spread their arms and legs wide when they jump, flying horizontally toward the water without doing any flips or rotations.
Just before hitting the water, the diver will tuck into a fetal-like position to reduce impact against the water.
For the extreme sport, judges will look at four main criteria: the run-up, where speed and power off the platform are high; a controlled flight with tricks; a landing where a more horizontal entry into the water gains more points; the overall impression, focusing on the flow of each dive.
The majority of athletes partaking in this extreme form of diving are Norwegians, but in recent years Americans have found themselves breaking into the upper echelons of the sport, as well as several competitors from the likes of Spain, France and Denmark.
