Nik Wallenda completes walk of 400-foot wheel in Orlando
Daredevil performer Nik Wallenda waves to a crowd below after he walked untethered along the rim of the Orlando Eye, the city's new, 400-foot observation wheel, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Orlando, Fla. The walk is being done in advance of next month's public opening of the attraction. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
ORLANDO, Fla. >> Daredevil performer Nik Wallenda successfully completed a walk across the rim of the 400-foot Orlando Eye observation wheel Wednesday morning in Florida.
The 36-year-old started his walk shortly after 8 a.m. atop the city’s newest attraction, which is set to open to the public early next month.
"It’s a little windy," Wallenda told NBC’s "Today" show, which broadcast the event. He said the structure was "really wet" as he began his 4 minute walk.
He rode to the top of the wheel, then navigated up ladders and around sections of the structure. Before starting the walk, he took a selfie with his phone.
The weather held up for the walk, though the skies were cloudy. He estimated the wind was about 20 mph.
After completing the walk, Wallenda rode to the ground atop one of the wheel’s capsules.
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Florida Gov. Rick Scot was among those gathered to watch Wallenda.
In November, Wallenda made two Chicago skyscraper crossings on high wires. Other previous tightrope walks took him to the brink of Niagara Falls in 2012 and across a Grand Canyon-area garage in 2013.
Wallenda is the great-grandson of Karl Wallenda who fell to his death during a tightrope stunt in Puerto Rico at 73.
