Colombia native Jhonathan Florez won the most prestigious prize in the extreme sport of wingsuit flying at the sport’s world championship in China on Sunday.
Florez won with the fastest descent of 23.40 seconds during the final jump at Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province. According to the World Wingsuit League’s website, the event was the second “Grand Prix” to be held in China and brought together 16 of the sport’s top competitors.
Florez holds several Guinness World Records in wingsuit flying and broke three world records in two days in April 2012 in La Guajira, Colombia, for the longest duration wingsuit flight (at 9 minutes and 6 seconds) and for the greatest absolute and horizontal distance covered in a wingsuit flight. He is considered one of extreme sports’ elite competitors and takes part in events professionally around the world.
Wingsuits are a specially designed jumpsuit which enables a human body to fly through the air by adding to the body’s surface area. The sport is dangerous and has had several recorded deaths including that of British James Bond stuntman Mark Sutton, who died in Switzerland in August.