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Can you do the splits? While spinning around? While skydiving?! 😲
13-year-old Fuyuki Kono (Japan) might seem like an ordinary schoolgirl at first, but she has a very special talent – indoor skydiving!
On 23 July 2021, young Fuyuki stepped inside a huge wind tunnel to try and break two records:
You can watch her spin-tastic attempts in the video below. Be warned though - watching Fuyuki whirl around might leave you feeling a little dizzy! 😵
Fuyuki first experienced indoor skydiving in 2018, when she was studying in Australia for 10 months. 🐨
"It was a completely new feeling (floating inside a wind tunnel), and I was hooked. I haven't stopped since then," Fuyuki said.
She then went on to compete in the Freestyle kids intermediate category at the 2019 Australian Open Indoor Skydiving Championships. Fuyuki won first place with a spectacular performance! 🥇🤩
Because indoor skydiving isn’t very popular in Japan, Fuyuki hoped to participate in more overseas competitions. She even planned to move to Australia and go to school there in 2020.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic ruined all her plans. 😞
"I could no longer compete, which caused me to not only lose my confidence but also made me want to give everything up."
However, things started to change when Mr. Kobayashi, her indoor sky diving coach, asked whether she would like to attempt some world records.
"At first, I thought I was never going to break it, but when I tried, I realized I might be able to."
Fuyuki decided to take on this record-breaking challenge as a confidence boost and to show people the beauty of indoor skydiving. 😍
"No matter where you go in the world, people doing indoor skydiving are kind and easy-going," she said.
Fuyuki spent two to three months preparing for the actual attempt. To master the two spin moves, she kept practising them non-stop. 😵
"I repeated the movement over and over to go beyond my limit."
"Because the wind blows from the bottom up, a slight glitch in position could easily put me off balance. You can easily go off centre, and you could even hit the wall if you're not careful."
After her months of training, and with her coaches and family watching excitedly, Fuyuki attempted the two records.
For the most front split spins in a wind tunnel in one minute, Fuyuki completed 78 spins. She spun 23 more times than the previous record holder. 😃
She also broke the record for most 360 horizontal spins in a wind tunnel in one minute (individual), spinning 60 times – that’s one spin per second! 😲
"Receiving the official certificates and getting cheers from everyone really made me feel a sense of achievement. If I ever meet anyone who is thinking about attempting a record, I would encourage them to try."
Fuyuki also mentioned that her parents were a huge help to her in the lead up to the attempt. 👨👩
"My mom, for instance, prepared meals with a balanced diet. My dad asked me whether I want to change the suit or wind level when I wasn't performing at my best."
"They were subtle in the way they supported me, which was immense. If they tried to support me more directly, I think I would've been annoyed!"
"So I'm really thankful to my parents - I don't think I would have broken these records had it not been for their support."
With two records now under her belt, she hopes to improve her spinning skills even more.
"Whether it be a new skill in the wind tunnel or my school studies, I want to step up and get better. I also have one Guinness World Records title in mind that I would like to try and break."
As for recovering her confidence, it seems her record titles have helped her towards that goal. 😊
"I'm not completely over it yet, but I'm feeling a lot better now."