Robbie Maddison Jumps 279 Feet on Motorbike over Corinth Canal

by Jacob Zinn | April 9, 2010 at 02:03 pm

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Australian motorbike daredevil Robbie Maddison jumped 279 feet across Greece’s Corinth Canal—some 311 feet above the bottom of the ravine.

Maddison, 28, accelerated to 125 km/h over grass, concrete, wood and asphalt on his Honda 500 before hitting the ramp, clearing the gorge and landing safely on the other side.

Robbie Maddison Clears Nerve-Racking Jump

Onlookers watched the Red Bull-sponsored jump from a nearby bridge with cameraphones ready to capture the spectacle.

While he made the stunt look easy, Maddison couldn’t help but be nervous.

This jump involved the highest consequences I have faced so far, so the first obstacle I had to overcome was my fear,” he said. “I believe you have to take risks in life to become wiser, and facing a challenge like this will help get me ready for the next feat I will face.

Maddison, nicknamed “Maddo,” was thrilled to finish the dangerous feat, knowing there are no do-overs when it comes to defying death.

Robbie Maddison’s Motorbike Accomplishments

This is not the furthest Maddison has jumped on a motorbike. On New Year’s Eve 2007 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, he broke the world motorcycle jumping record with a distance of 322 feet, 7½ inches—40 years after Evel Knievel jumped the casino’s fountains.

On March 29, 2008, he broke his record twice in the same night, first travelling 342 feet, 7 inches, then almost 351 feet.

On New Year’s Eve 2008, he opted to go vertical and jumped 120 feet up to land on top of the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas, a hotel modeled after Paris, France.

Last July, he performed a no-handed backflip over the partly raised Tower Bridge in London.

He placed second in last year’s Red Bull X-Fighters , an annual motorbike competition, behind Nate Adams. He is scheduled compete in this year’s X-Fighters starting next week in Mexico City, Mexico.