On a quiet Valentines Day Sunday over the sunny skies of Ashburton, Anna smashed the Guinness World Record for the highest static trapeze act, while suspended from a hot air balloon.

Early morning fog didn’t hamper spirits (although delayed the balloon takeoff) and the massive safety, filming and support crew worked tirelessly to ensure Anna was ready to attempt her daredevil feat.

Anna climbed down onto the trapeze below the hot air balloon basket with assistance from Rob Dawson; Anna’s rope access technician (who also worked with her on a previous aerial hoop routine in 2014).

Even a dislocated rib, a few minutes into the routine, didn’t deter the gutsy Wellington Ambulance Officer and Pilates instructor from achieving her goal and performing a challenging static trapeze routine that lasted for over five minutes at an altitude between 10,400 ft and 11,400 ft

The previous highest static trapeze world record to beat was at 2,171ft.

Although sore, Anna’s adrenaline was still pumping when her feet touched solid ground again.
 “I am really proud of how all the team of experts came together, it’s still unbelievable that it actually happened! A little part of me thought that this was all too big and it couldn’t happen but the whole thing went so smoothly. I am so lucky to have had the perfect people involved to help me achieve it!”
 
Anna had hoped to top off her high flying experience by sky diving from the hot air balloon afterwards, but her injury prevented her from doing so. The support crew from Sky Diving Kiwis however continued with the plan, jumping from the balloon above the Ashburton District.
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Anna was raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and has raised over $1700 towards their amazing child mentoring programme so far. The Give a little page will be online until later in the year for those who still wish to donate. https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/circusinthesky

The record was made with help from her sponsors Ballooning Canterbury, MaD Strength and Conditioning, Skydiving Kiwis, COBi Digital and Cirrus International Marketing.