Bungy jumper sets new 24-hour record

An Auckland man has more than doubled the previous Guinness World Record for the most bungy jumps done in 24 hours.

Mike Heard moon-walked, stepped, jumped and somersaulted off the Auckland Harbour Bridge 430 times by 7.15pm Wednesday.

The 35-year old was aiming for just 200 jumps in 24 hours, but achieved this goal just 12 hours into the challenge, and kept on going until the timer stopped.

He even blew his own estimate out of the water.

Just after midday Tuesday he said he would probably do 400 jumps by the end but admitted that was a conservative guess.

‘‘It’s hard to guess how many I’ll do because every time I say a number, we go over it,’’ Heard said.

To put that into dollar terms, it costs customers $160 for their first jump at AJ Hackett Bungy on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, then $60 for every jump after that.

If Heard were paying his own way, it would cost him $25,900 for the 430 jumps.

Earlier in the day he said his body was feeling ‘‘really good’’ - except for a few sore muscles around the outside of his thighs - but his head was a different story.

‘‘I’ve just done 52 in a row, and when I stop I feel like I’ve been on a boat - I actually feel worse when I stop than when I’m going.

‘‘Jumping has become the new normal.’’

Between jumps Heard has managed to fit in rest stops, including bathroom breaks, two hours sleep just after midnight, and a few food breaks.

He said he wasn’t particularly hungry or sleepy, and was surviving on bananas, energy drinks and power-naps.

He did 48 jumps in the first hour then paced himself to 25 jumps per hour on Wednesday morning, then picked back up again around midday.

He said technique was important.

‘‘I sort of just jump straight down, because the wind is coming from the north-west and by doing that I can stop myself from spinning, because when I spin I start to feel quite dizzy.’’

But the best jump so far was the 316th jump - double the original record of 158 set by Australian man Beau Retallick in 2014.

‘‘It was quite emotional for me, I had a little cry, I’ve got my wife here and my best friend and work mates, a very humbling experience.’’

Heard said record attempt was all about raising money and awareness for the Mental Health Foundation. He had raised more than $7000 in donations for the charity by 3pm on Wednesday.

AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand managing director Henry van Asch said Heard’s effort was exceptional.