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This article was first published 12 years ago

HISTORIC: A walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope!

Last updated on: June 16, 2012 13:58 IST

Image: Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the US side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Photographs: Mike Cassese/Reuters

A daredevil American, Nik Wallenda, on Saturday became first person in the world to walk on a tightrope across the roaring Niagara Falls, separating the United States and Canada.

A high-wire artist Wallenda, 33, defied predictions of naysayers who warned him of everything from falcons to fierce winds toppling him as he braved heavy winds and heavy spray taking just under 30 minutes to cover the 1,800 feet distance across the mist-fogged brink of the falls.

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HISTORIC: A walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope!

Image: Wallenda walks the high wire over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls
Photographs: Mark Blinch/Reuters

Egged on by hundreds of thousands of people watching him from the Canadian and US sides of the falls, Wallenda gingerly walked on a cable suspended 196 feet over a never-before traversed rim of the biggest waterfall in the North America.

"I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now," he said at a news conference minutes after completing the walk.

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HISTORIC: A walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope!

Image: Wallenda walks the high wire
Photographs: Mark Blinch/Reuters

"The impossible is not quite the impossible if you set your mind to it." A member of the family of famed high-wire walkers Wallenda family, Nik said he had from childhood dreamt of pulling off the stunt, never before attempt.

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HISTORIC: A walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope!

Image: Nik Wallenda walks the high wire
Photographs: Mark Blinch/Reuters

Other attempts have been made to wire-walk acroos the Niagara, but they have all been downstream. Wallenda started his dream walk from the American end and arrived on the Canadian side, waving to his fans.

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HISTORIC: A walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope!

Image: Nik Wallenda pumps his fist as he reaches the end of his tight rope walk
Photographs: Fred Thornhill/Reuters

Attempts to cross the falls are strictly forbidden, but the authorities made an exception for Wallenda, who is a descendant in a long line of acrobats and circus performers.

Wallenda said the first thing he did after the walk was to call his grandmother to let her know that he had done it.

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