The acrobats Nik and Lijana Wallenda achieved a spectacular stunt: Last night, the siblings balanced over a 400-meter wire rope between two skyscrapers, high above the famous Times Square in New York. The two crossed the rope, which was about as thick as a wine cork, in the opposite direction, as images of the TV station ABC showed.
In the middle Lijana Wallenda sat down on the wire so that her brother could climb over her. After almost 40 minutes at a height of around 80 meters, the acrobats had reached the other building. Nik Wallenda went slightly downhill as the rope on his side was higher. Both were wearing a seatbelt during the stunt.
First appearance after a heavy fall
For Lijana Wallender, it was her first public appearance since she fell ten meters high during a training session two years ago and seriously injured herself. As she crossed Times Square, where thousands of spectators had gathered, she sang songs to reassure herself.
Nik and Lijana Wallenda, 40 and 42 years old, are among the best high ropes artists in the world. They belong to an acrobatic family living in Sarasota in the US state of Florida, who call themselves „Flying Wallendas“. Nik Wallenda was already crossing Niagara Falls and part of the Grand Canyon on a tightrope.
In Chicago, he walked blindfolded between two skyscrapers. And in Orlando he walked over a 120 meter high rotating Ferris wheel – without a fuse. His wife Erendira was dangling on her teeth at about 90 meters above the Niagara Falls in 2017 by a helicopter.
The family has German roots, Nik Wallenda’s great-grandfather was born in Magdeburg. He was killed in a human pyramid in 1978.
