Jithin Vijayan, an IT professional from Kochi, has set records in skydiving. With his most recent jump — from Whiteville in Tennessee, USA, on July 1 — the 41-year-old has set the Guinness World Record for the longest outdoor freefall (2:47 minutes). Inadvertently, this feat also saw him set two Asian records — for exit from the highest altitude (42,431 feet) and the longest fall without a drogue (36,929 feet).
“I had climbed to the Everest base camp in 2022. My plan was to spend a year preparing for the next summit and unfurl the Indian f lag atop the world at 29,000ft. But my family did not support me because of the high risk,” says the 41-year-old who has made close to 200 jumps in his year-long skydiving career.
The only other sport in which he could have carried a flag that high was skydiving.
Jithin while being accredited as a professional sky diver simultaneously also works as the director of N-Dimensions Solutions Private Limited, an IT company in Ernakulam.
Since his childhood, Jithin had this intense passion to fly. This first led him to Paragliding and from there he switched in to skydiving.
Vijayan has even acquired A Grade license from Spain. He also trained at skydiving centers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and UK.
