Record breakers who died chasing glory – zip wire horror to lightning strikes

Guinness World Records was first published more than 70 years ago. The book, launched on August 27, 1955, has since been published in more than 100 countries, translated into 40 languages and sold more than 150million copies.

It also has more than 50,000 different records logged in its database. But as well as being truly unique or achieving incredible feats, the stories of some of its heroic record breakers have ended in tragedy.

Here, we take a look at those whose achievements were followed by their downfall.

Tall over

Reaching a lofty 8ft 11in, Robert Wadlow was the tallest man who ever lived.

Born in 1918 in Illinois, baby Robert weighed in at a not-unusual 8.7lbs. But by the age of eight, the American already towered over his parents – who were of average height.

At 12 he was diagnosed with a problem in his pituitary gland, which meant he had an unusual level of growth hormone. Doctors couldn’t operate safely, so Wadlow just kept on getting bigger. He would briefly work for a shoe company (he was a size 36) and a circus.

But Wadlow’s huge height meant he had to wear leg braces to support his 31st frame. At 22, a blister on his right ankle caused by a badly fitted brace turned septic, eventually killing him.

Strike it unlucky

The odds of being hit by lightning just once during your lifetime are one in 10,000. American ranger Roy Sullivan was stuck by lightning a record seven times.

He was first hit by a 100m-volt bolt in 1942, while working in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia – and hit more times during the course of his work through until 1977.

Amazingly Sullivan – who earned the nickname “human lightning conductor” – survived each strike, despite suffering burns, losing eyebrows and toenails, and having his hair set on fire. One of his charred hats can still be seen in a museum.

The father of four sadly took his own life with a gunshot to the head, aged 71, in 1983.

Fatally fast

Adrenaline junkie Donald Campbell broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 60s on both land and water.

But travelling in the world’s fastest boats had already taken several lives by the time Campbell set out to top 300mph in his Bluebird K7 on Coniston Water in the Lake District.

During the attempt on January 4, 1967, the jet-powered hydroplane flipped while travelling at about 320mph, killing the 45-year-old instantly. His body was not recovered until 2001.

Spaced out

Daredevil Felix Baumgartner was watched live by millions on TV in 2012 when he jumped from the edge of space.

The Austrian recorded the highest freefall skydive with a parachute, jumping 127,852ft – that’s 24 miles – from a balloon in the stratosphere. He broke the sound barrier, along with a total of eight records, during the Red Bull stunt before landing safely in New Mexico.

Baumgartner was also a top BASE jumper. On July 17, 2025, the daredevil died after crashing a paraglider into a holiday camp in Italy, dying from a broken spine. He was 56-years-old.

Hair-raising horror

Guinness World Records is full of novel accomplishments.

One of its most bizarre records was set by Indian Sailendra Nath Roy, who travelled the furthest distance on a zip wire – using his hair. The police driver travelled an impressive 270ft this way at Neemrana Fort Palace in Rajasthan, India, on March 1, 2011.

But in 2013, an attempt to beat his own record ended in tragedy. Roy was trying to cross the Teesta river in West Bengal with only his ponytail attached to a zip wire 70ft up.

But he suffered a heart attack halfway across, dying on the spot, aged 48. A friend said he had promised his worried wife that the stunt would be his last.

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