Watch: Man uses skateboard to set world pole vaulting record
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - The self-proclaimed 'creator of skate vaulting" got some serious air when he used an electric skateboard to launch him to record setting height in Germany on Monday.
Baptiste Boirie’s monster vault cleared 6.17 meters, or 20 feet, exactly 1 centimeter greater than fellow Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, who claimed the men's world record in 2014 with a 6.16 apex.
Mobile users watch the launch here
In a video posted to Instagram, Boirie said he was motivated by France’s World Cup “super victory.” And as he barreled down the straight away, pole in hand moving towards "a really symbolic world record bar," Boirie was moving to the control of his wife, who was operating the skateboard's remote.
“Skate perche or skate vaulting isn’t comparable with real pole vault,” he wrote. “I am very happy and honored to have the opportunity to feel that high feeling."
If Tokyo is looking to spice up the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, they have at least one option now.