A French daredevil has taken the world altitude record for standing on a hot-air balloon to new heights, reaching a stomach-churning 4016 metres.
Rémi Ouvrard, 28, donned a white astronaut suit to perform the stunt over Chatellerault, western France, almost quadrupling his 2019 record of 1217 metres.
It seems the daredevil streak runs in the Ouvrard family. The hot-air balloon was piloted by none other than his father, Jean-Daniel.
The two-hour flight was run in support of France’s annual telethon charity event, which raises money for neuromuscular disease research.
The flight aimed to reach an altitude of 3637 metres, with the altitude matching the phone number of the telethon campaign (36-37).
Ouvrard proudly celebrated the 3637 metre milestone by flying two posters in the air.
Then the father-son duo decided they still had more left in the tank, and the balloon soared past the goal to more than four kilometres above the Earth.
Upon landing, Ouvrard said he knew he had to keep pushing once they reached their initial target.
“When we passed the 3500 metres, I knew that we could get the 4000. We had to beat the iron when it was still hot,” he said.
Ouvrard also held the previous record, set in 2019, of standing on a balloon at 1217 metres.
Although he may be fresh back on Earth from his high-flying voyage, Ouvrard can’t wait to get back up into the sky.
He said he was already brainstorming ideas with his father for next year’s fundraising event.
