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Chinese diver sets world record in waterfall diving | A Chinese diver has set a new world record in waterfall diving. Di Huanran, 51,
leapt into the 25-m-high Diaoshuilou Waterfall in Heilongjiang province, 26 years
after undertaking his first dive,the China Daily reports. In 1983, infatuation
had enticed him to clamber halfway up the cliff face. Then,Di pressed his palms
together as if in prayer, then lifted them above his head. The thousands of bystanders
had little inkling he was about to make a tremendous leap of faith. With legs
like piston rods, the 25-year-old pounced headfirst from the crag, training his
fingertips on the bull's-eye created by the vortex's center. Onlookers gasped
as the human missile shot toward the roiling swirl, detonating a frothy explosion
upon impact. They panted with suspense as velocity sucked Di several meters underwater
and the ferocious maelstrom whipped his figure to and fro. The crowd's inhalations
became eruptive cheers as Di thrashed free from the chokehold of the watery spiral's
tentacles, pulling his dripping body onto the bank, unscathed. He immediately
scuttled back up the precipice and dove in three more times. "I'll never forget
that first dive," he says. The exhilaration of that first jump led the Harbin
native to continue taking his pastime to greater heights. Cliff diving replaced
chauffeuring as Di's livelihood in 2002, when the Jingpo Lake park and forestry
bureau hired him to stage regular performances. He earns an annual salary of about
50,000 Yuan (7,315 dollar) working five months per year. On Sept 21, 2008, a 12.19-m-high
plunge from Diaoshuilou earned him a Guinness World Record for the highest waterfall
dive. He plans to dive from a higher point on Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region's
40-m-high Detian Cataract, one of Asia's largest waterfalls, next year. However,
he declines to discuss specifics. The swimmer explains that after more than a
decade of leaping from cliffs and bridges, diving sets his mind racing faster
than his heart. |
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