The 1st World Highwire Championships

Held May 3-5, 2007 in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 during the city's annual Hi Seoul Festival, the competition is a test of balance, agility, concentration and, more specifically, speed. Competitors race individually across a thin cable, 30-mm thick, which is stretched one-km long over the Han River

Han River (Korea)

The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...

. The Cable was designed by the UK engineers Tony Gee & Partners.

Of the 18 highwire walkers competing, 16 successfully completed the walk, earning the distinction of co-owning the Guinness World Record for longest skywalk.

Two competitors were disqualified for non-completion of the walk. One, Wang Hui of China, tired halfway through and jumped into the water a few metres below him where a rescue boat was waiting while another, Alexey Marchenko of Russia, made a misstep just 100 metres from the end and fell about 10 metres. Both were wet but uninjured and jovial.

One competitor, Jorge Arturo Ojeda, fell halfway through the walk dropping his balance pole. He was able to regain his footing after being brought a new pole and still completed the walk finishing with the 7th best time.

Final Results

Pos.	Name	Country	Time
1	Abudusataer Wujiabudula	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	0:11:22.49
2	Alan Martinez	Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...	0:11:30.54
3	Jade Kindar-Martin Jade Kindar-Martin Jade Kindar-Martin is a highwire walker and circus performer.Kindar-Martin started performing on the wire at the age of 14 with Circus Smirkus, a youth circus based in rural Vermont...	USA	0:11:35.54
4	Adili Wuxiuer	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	0:11:53.93
5	Bekhzod Tashkenbaev	Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....	0:13:02.20
6	Laszlo Simet	Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	0:14:22.45
7	Jorge Arturo Ojeda	Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...	0:14:50.41
8	Pedro Carrillo	USA	0:17:05.09
9	Wontae Kwon	South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...	0:17:06.77
10	Tsutomu Okamoto	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	0:17:34.86
11	Valery Svezhov	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	0:22:45.00
12	Ayixiguli Maimaitimin	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	0:31.40.58
13	Yana Kazanbaeva	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	0:35:23.42
14	Olga Simet	Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	0:35:49.73
15	Daisuke	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	0:41:23.97
X	Wang Hui	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...	Disqualified
X	Alexey Marchenko	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	Disqualified
?	Ekaterina Maksimova	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	TBD