On 11/6, Vali Graham attempted a "death dive" from the top of Minnehaha Falls in the Blue Mountains, a scenic area west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The waterfall is 42.5 meters high, equivalent to a 13-story building. A recently released video shows the 21-year-old athlete performing several mid-air rotations, but his improper water entry resulted in a fractured vertebra, sternum, fractured skull, and ruptured eardrum.
Remarkably, Graham remained conscious after the incident. He swam to shore and walked 1.2 kilometers to the parking area without assistance. He subsequently underwent two major surgeries.
 |
Vali Graham takes a leap of faith from the waterfall. Photo: Youtube |
Vali Graham takes a leap of faith from the waterfall. Photo: Youtube
Graham's jump was an attempt to surpass Lucien Charlon, the Swiss athlete who holds the record for a 41.7-meter death dive. In this extreme sport, divers leap from a height, curl into a ball, and plunge into the water. Graham failed to execute this maneuver correctly, entering the water with his arms and legs outstretched. The Death Diving World Championships are typically held in Norway.
"Thank God for the gift of pain," Graham wrote on social media. "The support has been amazing. I had surgery and was walking after two days."
However, many criticized Graham's risky behavior, particularly his 1.2-kilometer walk with a fractured vertebra.
"Thank God? Dude, you jumped from a 13-story building, and now I have to pay taxes for your stupid choices," one person commented. Another wrote, "God didn't give you pain; you gave it to yourself."
Thanh Quy (according to NYP)
