The key facts

  • Thomas van Tonder crossed 600 rungs over more than 280 meters beneath the 216-meter Bloukrans Bridge
  • His time was 47 minutes 37 seconds; he started at 10:21 with a heart rate of 150 beats per minute
  • The steepest section was a 45-degree climb, which the athlete completed moving backwards

First-ever crossing under a bridge arch

Obstacle course racing world champion Thomas van Tonder has completed the first-ever crossing under South Africa's Bloukrans Bridge, Euronews reported. As part of the Red Bull Bridge Bars challenge, he traversed 600 suspended rungs along a stretch of more than 280 meters along the bridge's arch, hanging 216 meters above the ground. The entire crossing took him 47 minutes and 37 seconds.

How the challenge unfolded

Starting at 10:21 with a heart rate of 150 beats per minute, the athlete immediately faced the steepest section of the course — a 45-degree climb, where he had to pull himself along the rungs one by one while moving backwards. According to Euronews, the climb pushed his grip to its limit, while the descent demanded precise control: gravity swung his body between the rungs, and the tape protecting his fingers gradually wore away. Fighting exhaustion, van Tonder focused on each next rung and completed all 600 without giving up once.

The athlete's words

Van Tonder himself called the crossing 'one of my biggest dreams and challenges of the past two years' and added: 'I finished what I started.'