Jumping down metre high walls, balancing over bars and on narrow walls, and all as quickly as possible against a breath-taking backdrop. Every false move may mean serious injury or death. Sounds like an action film? But it is in fact reality.
Parkour is a method of physical training where obstacles have to be overcome as effectively as possible. This sport developed in urban areas. It is characterised by sprints, balancing and jumps over walls, benches, railings and roofs.
The world’s longest parkour course was built for a competition on the world-famous “Stairway to Heaven” steps on Tianmen Mountain in China. With a slope of 45 degrees it is more than spectacular! The so-called “Skyladder Course” has 999 steps, is 150 metres high and 360 metres long. The parkour event consists of two competitions: the “Speed Race”, where the parkour has to be completed as quickly as possible, and the “Skills Challenge”, where competitors perform hair-raising jumps, flips and tricks.
The Viennese parkour artist Alexander Schauer filmed the Speed Race in which he achieved fifth place from the first-person perspective. The video is a real hit on the Internet.
Photo: Alex Schauer