Daredevil's world record cliff jump attempt ends in horror injuries
Vali Graham is a keen participant in døds — an extreme sport also known as death diving — and on June 11, attempted to break the current record from the top of Minnehaha Falls in the Blue Mountains.
In pre-jump footage, the 21-year-old is seen yelling and flexing in a bid to get ready for the giant leap before him.
Throwing himself off the cliff face, Mr Graham is captured freefalling for mere seconds before hitting the waterhole below in a 'pike' formation – knocking himself unconscious and sustaining a burst eardrum, fractured vertebrae, sternum, and skull in the process.
Days later, he took to social media to thank 'God', his friends and family for a miraculous recovery.
'Update: 'God gives us the gift of suffering' after sending this monster 42.5m cliff I was knocked unconscious,' the Newcastle local wrote.
'After regaining consciousness I pulled myself out of the water and walked a steep 1.2km out to our car where my friends took me to hospital.
'The support was amazing, I've had surgery on my back and sternum and was walking 2 days after surgery,' he said.
'Back at home now, on my feet and grateful for life, good friends, family and God.
'A set back is an opportunity to show how bad your (sic) really want it and I am honestly mentally feeling amazing, ready to rebuild my body better than ever and come back stronger, a long way to go but excited for the journey.'
Many, however, did not share the same sentiment on Mr Graham's setback, instead commenting on why he did not mention the doctors that had cared for him and performed the lifesaving surgeries.
''Grateful for God' dude you jumped from the height of a 13 storey building and now my taxes have to pay for your dumb choices,' one social media user said.
Another added: 'Why, in that big caption did you not thank the doctors a single time.
'Lots of thanking god but not the humans that actually operated on you.'
'What about the healthcare staff who actually treated your self inflicted injuries … it definitely wasn't 'god'!' a third wrote.
'God didn't give you that suffering, you did that yourself,' a fourth said.
Others expressed concern for the safety of the sport itself.
'Insane, you walked 1.2km with all those injuries … you do what you love, but a little caution here and there is very healthy man,' one fan commented.
'We are approaching the first 50m 'døds'/'death dive', slowly, but surely,' another said.
'And I'm pretty sure we're reaching the upper limit.
'Someone is probably loosing their life in the pursuit of the world record/breaking new barriers.'
The official freestyle world record is currently held by 23-year-old Swiss diver Lucien Charlon at 41.7m.
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