Austrian skydivers Marco Fürst and Marco Waltenspieladded has etched their name into the history books by becoming the first people to fly through London’s defining landmark Tower Bridge. The feat marks another career milestone for the daredevils who have spent their lives pushing the conventional limits of skydiving.

The Jump

From take-off to emerging through the Tower Bridge, the wingsuit flight lasted 45 seconds.

Attempting a challenge never-before faced in history, Marcos jumped from a helicopter at 3,000ft, diving down to 35m above the River Thames in London, soaring through the Tower Bridge and completing a complex manoeuvre, known as a ‘flare’, to rise up again to 80m, the height required to open their parachutes. The pair landed safely on the River Thames.

From take-off to emerging through the Tower Bridge, the skydivers flight lasted 45 seconds, covering a distance of 1.2 kilometres and reaching a top speed of 246 km/h. With their wingsuits on, the skydivers exited the helicopter at around 3000 feet. Check out the stunt here.

Historic World First

Austrian skydivers, Marco Waltenspiel and Marco Fürst, flew through the 61×57 metre gap in Tower Bridge.

“I just feel amazing. The jump was beautiful and everything worked out really good. In the last two and a half years we planned everything through and had the best preparation and training,” said Marco Fürst. “I really enjoyed the journey and I’m really grateful to work with Marco and such a good team to bring our dream to life”.

Marco Waltenspiel echoed his sentiment stating that the unique bridge can’t be rebuilt. “We did around 200 training jumps just for this day, just for this minute. The difference between training and today is, of course, huge. It’s not a common jump, it’s unique. It was quite intense and I’m super happy now.”

Expertly Executed

Wings Through Tower Bridge is the first time a wingsuit flight has ever been attempted and completed

Preparation started for this unique challenge in April 2022 and has involved the team constructing a training ground in Oxfordshire, which featured two cranes to mimic the dimensions of the Tower Bridge.

Wingsuit flying has revolutionised skydiving, with the purpose to convert vertical falling into a horizontal flight, then landing safely using a parachute. Fürst and Waltenspiel, members of the Red Bull Skydive Team, have completed 11.000 jumps in places like Croatia’s heart island and iconic downhill ski run ‘The Streif’ in Kitzbühel, Austria.

Red Bull partnered with Canon as the Official Camera Partner to bring the project to life, utilising a broad range of cutting-edge imaging technology to capture the action.

(Images: Red Bull Content Pool)