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Archiver > HACKETT > 1998-10 > 0907764003


From: Rick Delahanty <>
Subject: [HACKETT-L] anyone on the list related to this guy?
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 08:40:03 -0400


New Zealand man claims world record for bungee jump

Associated Press, 10/05/98

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) - Using only a rubber bungee cord and two
steel guide cables, a New Zealand entrepreneur dived off Auckland's
highest building today, plunging 591 feet and claiming to set a world
record.

Traffic halted in the central city as crowds gathered to watch A.J.
Hackett's 8-second jump from the Sky Tower casino. The bungee cord
ended his plunge just above the shouting and whistling spectators.

Hackett, a promoter credited with popularizing the extreme sport, said
he set a record for a bungee jump from a building. The Guinness Book
of World Records does not recognize bungee jumps because of their
danger.

For the nighttime jump, Hackett used a rubber bungee along with two
steel guide cables to prevent himself from bouncing or drifting into
the building.

``That (system) keeps me in a nice little slot all the way down,''
Hackett said before the jump. ``They work beautifully.''

Hackett jumped 377 feet from the Eiffel Tower in Paris 12 years ago.

``You get a fair bit of adrenaline pumping round your body, which is
fairly nice,'' he said.

Longer bungee jumps include one of nearly 3,300 feet from a helicopter
and another 700-foot drop off a dam in the 1995 James Bond movie
``Goldeneye.''

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