Hundreds of people watched in suspense on Friday as Freddy Nock walked nearly one kilometre across Lake Zurich on a wire 30 metres above the surface.
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Nock set a new world record for a tight-rope walk over open water.
The 900 metre walk took him two hours, because of the wind. On several occasions he had to sit down when the wire swayed too much.
The special wire was fasted to a crane at either end, and stabilised by supporting ropes attached to twelve pontoons. Nock repeatedly had to give instructions to the pontoons to change the position of these ropes.
He performed the feat in order to publicise the fact that the Knie circus, where he will be appearing, is being held in a new location on the opposite side of the lake this year.
Nock, who is 45 and comes from a Swiss circus dynasty, already held five world records. Last month in China he crossed a rope suspended at a record 500 metres above the ground.
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Swiss walks tightrope to triumph
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At the world championships held in the South Korean capital, Seoul, last weekend, Freddy Nock took just 10 minutes, 17 seconds to cover one kilometre along a rope suspended 30 metres above a river. Nock was the only competitor to complete the act without using a balancing pole or safety net. During the competition he…
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The circus insists they still have a role to play – as long as they are cared for properly. Unlike other famous troupes such as the Moscow State Circus and the Canadian Cirque du Soleil, Circus Knie maintains a travelling menagerie including elephants, sea lions, horses and a giraffe called Rothschild. “You can provide animals…
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But the circus tradition is in danger. Strict regulations and rising costs could force some smaller companies to stop touring or even close their doors completely. A frequent complaint is that circus entertainment is not considered to have any cultural value and the Swiss authorities do not grant circuses concessions to help them operate. “The…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.