Adrenaline junkies who love extreme sports have a new hero in a young kiteboarder who set a world record soaring 790 feet before gliding to a safe splashdown on Oregon’s Columbia River.
Professional kiteboarder Jesse Richman got a kick start from a towboat before releasing the line and flying free.
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“The rumor around town was that I was going to jump out of a helicopter. That wasn’t exactly right,” said Richman. “At one point I was moving at 57 mph airspeed.”
Richman’s boat driver and stunt coordinator was fellow professional kiteboarder Jon Malmberg, who designed the custom-reinforced gear, which includes an emergency parachute.
“We attached it to the quick-release of his kite so that [if] he released the kite it would also pull the reserve chute and let him safely come down to the water,” Malmberg said.
