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New Zealander smashes record for bungee jumps in 24 hours

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Agence France-Presse

<p><br/>WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealander smashed the world record Wednesday for the most bungee jumps in 24 hours after making a total of 941 leaps off Auckland Bridge.</p><p>Mike Heard, 41, toppled the previous record of 765 jumps set by Frenchman Francois-Marie Dibon in Scotland last year.</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=727427922747689&amp;set=gm.286582754300910&amp;idorvanity=282566494702536" data-width="auto"> </div><p>Having started at 0700 local time on Tuesday (1800 GMT Monday), Heard passed Dibon&#x27;s record in the early hours of Wednesday before powering on to set the new best mark, his support team told AFP.</p><p>&quot;It certainly wasn&#x27;t easy, and going into it, I knew it would be a massive challenge. The number of jumps we had to hit, added a whole new level of nerves to this attempt for me,&quot; Heard said.</p><p>&quot;But the record needed to be here, because bungee is a part of our DNA.&quot;</p><p>Heard, who lives in Auckland, was showered with blue confetti after his 941st and final leap just before 0700 local time Wednesday.</p><p>Bungee jumping is the extreme sport of leaping from a great height while connected to an elastic rope.</p><p>According to its website, the bungee jump at Auckland Bridge is 40 meters (131 feet) high.</p><p>Before starting his record attempt, Heard said he steeled himself for the marathon challenge by adding ice baths and cold showers to his training regime.</p><p>He had previously set the record in 2008 and 2017.</p><p>Heard said he was motivated to bring the record to New Zealand and raise money for a mental health charity.</p><p>&quot;It feels wrong to let this record be held by any country other than New Zealand and I want it back,&quot; he said before attempting the record.</p><div><strong>ryj/md</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sdIlDVDAqjQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

A New Zealander smashed the world record Wednesday for the most bungee jumps in 24 hours after making a total of 941 leaps off Auckland Bridge.