Spanish wingsuit pilot Dani Román, 35, and French BASE jumper Fred Fugen, 47, carried out the spectacular stunt on 5 November at the former Trbovlje Power Station, home to Europe’s tallest chimney. Rather than jumping from the structure, the two athletes were launched upwards by a specially designed 60-metre vertical catapult installed inside its upper section.
Román’s solo launch saw him accelerate from zero to 180 km/h in just 2.15 seconds, experiencing forces of up to 4.2 G. He continued rising 100.36 metres after leaving the launcher, setting a Guinness World Record for the greatest height achieved by a human catapult.
The pair then attempted a simultaneous launch, reaching 145 km/h in 2.66 seconds and setting a second Guinness World Record for the greatest combined height achieved by a human catapult, at 151.72 metres. Román gained 75.97 metres and Fugen 75.75 metres after being propelled into the air. Both athletes deployed their parachutes after transitioning from their upward trajectory into freefall.
The ambitious project took two and a half years to develop and was engineered by Slovenian stunt collective DD Squad, with support from Red Bull and Prada Linea Rossa.