His motto was “The Sky is the Limit”. The Swiss high wire artist held many world records. Now the man with the incredible sense of balance and strong nerves is dead.
Geneva – The Swiss high-wire artist Freddy Nock is dead. He died at the age of 59, a spokeswoman for Circus Roncalli, where Nock last performed, told the German Press Agency. Several media outlets had previously reported. “We are all dismayed. He didn't seem sick. We are in contact with his family, as soon as we know more there will be a statement,” she added to the Swiss news portal “20 Minutes”.
There were initially no details about the circumstances of the death. The police in the canton of Aargau simply stated that there had been a police operation at the artist's place of residence.
The extreme athlete was a multiple record holder – and by his own admission he continued to push the limits. “No skyscraper, no mountain and no lake is safe from him,” it says on his website. He had big plans for 2024: He wanted to use a hot air balloon to balance over a rope without safety at a height of more than 5,000 meters.
Nock came from a traditional circus family. She comes from Austria, but part of the family settled in Switzerland. Circus Nock has been active in the canton of Aargau since 1860. In 2019, the family stopped the business due to lack of money.
Already on the rope as a child
Freddy Nock balanced on the rope as a small child. He competed in circus festivals and set several world records. Among other things, he walked over the support cables of mountain railways in Switzerland, for example in St. Moritz and on Säntis. In 2010 he crossed Lake Zurich over a length of 900 meters on a high rope, and a year later he walked up Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, using a support cable from the glacier railway.
The news portal “20 Minutes” recalled Nock’s participation in the 2015 World Rope Running Championships in China. “He ran an 800-meter-long rope across the Jiubujiang Reservoir and became the winner in the following disciplines: Fastest rope walker in the world forward 800 meters in seven minutes 39 seconds and jumping backwards blindfolded 800 meters in eleven minutes and 40 seconds,” said the leaf.
He also set three records in one day in 2020: 40 meters of balancing on a particularly steep incline, 367 meters of cycling on a cable at a height of 175.4 meters and walking 151.1 meters on a steel cable blindfolded. dpa
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