Felix Baumgartner

SportsGrid ()

What defines a hero? To some people, heroes are relatives or close friends who devote themselves to the service of others. To me, it is someone like Felix Baumgartner, an Australian daredevil who, aside from wingsuiting, BASE jumping, and many other adrenaline inducing feats, jumped from the edge of space.

I first heard about Felix Baumgartner when the media announced that he would make a test jump for a Red Bull sponsored mission from 13 miles above the earth. I looked it up on the web and found Red Bull Stratos, a daring jump from 24 miles above the earth. When I heard this, I was amazed- at the time, I couldn't even imagine myself skydiving. I looked him up, and soon I found videos of him jumping from bridges, cliffs, and buildings. This told me that if a guy is willing to jump from the edge of space, then I shouldn't be afraid of jumping out of a plane 2 miles above the earth.

Determination is also a value which I think heroes should have, and Felix is a perfect example. When he was 5 years old, he drew a picture of himself skydiving with his family watching. No one would have guessed that 38 years later, this image would become a reality.This determination turned him into what he is today. He also was initially claustrophobic in the pressure suit. At one point, he left the U.S instead of taking an endurance test in the suit. He finally overcame this fear with sports psychiatrists and determination and went on with the mission.

Baumgartner also put his life on the line for the sake of science. Although he simply wanted to jump from the edge of space, he had to assemble a team of scientists to help him, which also provided the opportunity to see what happens to the human body when it breaks the sound barrier. There were many risks involved in this operation: if the pressure suit lost pressure, the water in his mouth and lungs would boil almost immediately because the air is so thin, and he would succumb to decompression sickness or "the bends"- the same thing that happens to scuba divers when they ascend too quickly. If he lost control during his dive and began to tumble, he could black out. Felix faced all these risks readily, which is another reason why he is my hero.

Of course Baumgartner was determined to break a few records as well. In one dive, he broke 4 records: highest skydive, greatest freefall distance, the fastest speed without the aid of a machine, and first person to break the sound barrier in freefall.

Baumgartner's fearlessness, willingness to face challenges, determination from a young age, and bravery to attempt an incredible life-or-death stunt are all reasons why he is my hero. Although I am still not able to understand why someone would think jumping from 24 miles above the earth would be fun, I do still admire him for his vision and willpower. Thanks to Felix, I can now face some of my own fears.