Aware of the big Chicago crowd of 50,000 below him Sunday night as he broke the world record for highest incline of a tightrope walk,Nik Wallenda welcomed their presence.He is used to such throngs,he explained to a global audience.The crowd somehow builds confidence in me.*
Wallenda,35,heir to the family legacy in acrobatics that dates back over 200 years,admitted to concern about wind,however.Even hearing light winds is extremely intimidating.I trained immensely in Sarasota,Florida.Clearly,it paid off.I felt confident and was able to make it across here.*
The two feats involved walking up a cable from the Marina City West Tower to the Marina City East Tower at a steep incline,then taking a shorter walk over a thinner wire blindfolded.Doing that with seemingly minimal effort,he broke a second world record-for highest blindfolded tightrope walk.A pinger set up at the last minute at the other end of the cable definitely helped,Wallenda said.*
After the Grand Canyon walk,I knew I had to train five times harder,the high wire expert continued.I went to my knees that time and thought I might have to grab onto that wire.*
The Discovery Channel telecast had an audience in more than 220 countries and territories.There were tweets about it coming in from Columbia,Brazil and Spain,as well as posts on Facebook and Instagram.Appropriately enough,Allstate Insurance was one of the live broadcast's sponsors.*
For an encore,Wallenda is planning to recreate his great grandfather Karl Wallenda's crossing of a gorge in the state of Georgia on the 45th anniversary of the stunt,including performing two headstands in the process.*
Allstate(ALL),Discovery Communications(DISCA)
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