Did You Watch Nik Wallenda & Sister Lijana’s Highwire Walk Over Times Square? (POLL)
All eyes were on the Wallenda siblings above Times Square Sunday night.
Nik and Lijana, members of the Flying Wallendas circus family, set out to walk across a 1,300-foot tightrope 25 stories above Times Square while carrying 38-pound poles he made — and they were successful, in just over 36 minutes.
The siblings had microphones and were able to talk to each other and talked to the crowd as they completed the walk. Nik started the journey first. “They say if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, so let’s make it in New York,” he said.
He was on the wire for about two minutes when he told his sister she could start. He told her the wire felt good and reminded her she’s “in control.” “You trained for this,” he said. “You’re going to do amazing.”
After some adjustments hooking her balance pole in, Lijana joined him on the wire at almost the three-minute mark. He waited for her at the “most stable” part of the wire for their crossover. She sat on the wire while they adjusted their harnesses as he stepped over her around the 18-minute mark.
Conquering the impossible. #HighwireLIVE pic.twitter.com/zyeEyhnZ1w
— Nik Wallenda (@NikWallenda) June 24, 2019
“What do you think, New York City?” Nik asked those watching as he completed the crossover. “What do you think, world?”
Lijana had to fix her pole before standing up again, and she called “the getting up” the difficult part of the crossover, though she wasn’t worried she did it 25 times. Once she was on her feet again, she said it was “all fun” since she’d gotten “the stressful part” out of the way.
“It was not easy, but I’m so glad, so glad I kept pushing and training and pushing past the fear,” Lijana said of her recovery from her serious injury after a fall in February 2017. The siblings had been practicing an eight-person pyramid on a wire 30 feet in the air when it toppled, and Lijana was among the people who fell.
Nik was the first to reach the other side, after almost 26 minutes on the wire. He then got a ride across Times Square to be there for his sister when she finished, at just over the 36-minute mark.
You can see the joy on all of their faces… THEY DID IT! #HighwireLIVE pic.twitter.com/fbgBNVyggb
— Highwire LIVE (@HighwireLIVE) June 24, 2019
“We are all about inspiration,” Nik told TV Insider prior to the walk, and he showed just that on the wire.
“Dream big, people. Nothing’s impossible,” he said near the end of his walk.
(Walt Disney Television/Jeff Neira)
What did you think of the Wallendas’ highwire walk? Did you watch? Vote in the poll below.
