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![]() Friday, May 21, 1999 Published at 18:30 GMT 19:30 UK ![]() ![]() World: Americas ![]() Knievel cracks Grand Canyon ![]() ![]()
Travelling at nearly 100mph, Robbie Knievel soared across the Arizona gorge 2,500ft above the canyon floor. With winds of 30mph, Knievel Jnr took three practice runs before finally taking off from the launch ramp.
The star stuntman was looking to break his own record leap, set in the early 1990s. A 500-strong crowd cheered Robbie, who has inherited his father's sense of adventure, and his jump was watched on television across the United States.
Touchdown! The Indians living in the Hualapai Indian Reservation on the canyon floor are safe from falling motorbikes as Robbie, 37, lands. After a nervous wait, officials confirm it is new record jump of 228ft beating his own record by five feet.
But the drama is not over. As he leaves the landing ramp the stuntman's bike skids and begins to topple sidewards. Paramedics on standby race to the stuntman as he is thrown from his machine. They work nervously to check the patient, placing him in a neck brace and on a stretcher.
Before long medics rule he only has minor cuts from the fall and the celebrations start.
Robbie's two children and mother were watching the jump, but his famous father, who pioneered the art of stunt jumping, is recovering from a liver transplant and was unable to attend. ![]() |
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