STORY: Foreign athletes join extreme sports on world's highest bridge in China
DATELINE: Sept. 8, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:31
LOCATION: GUIYANG, China
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the athletes doing BASE jumping
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONY STEVE NEWTON, French athlete
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PABLO SAMY MAXIME SIGNORET, French athlete
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BENJAMIN ALLEN GINGOLD, British athlete
5. various of the athletes doing BASE jumping

STORYLINE:

The 2023 International High Bridge Extreme Sports Invitational Tournament wrapped up Thursday in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Twenty athletes from 11 countries and regions, including Italy, France, Canada and the United States, performed BASE jumping from the Beipanjiang Bridge.

The bridge, sitting over 565 meters above a valley, has been certified as the world's highest by Guinness World Records.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONY STEVE NEWTON, French athlete
"We came to China at least six times, and this is the first time for BASE jumping, but the bridge is beautiful, the old area here is really nice."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PABLO SAMY MAXIME SIGNORET, French athlete
"I would say the bridges again because they are so huge. They are so tall. That's really what impresses me. It's crazy to see all those bridges and we are amazed."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BENJAMIN ALLEN GINGOLD, British athlete
"This is my 10th year BASE jumping. I've done just over 1,000 jumps and 13 years in skydiving. This was my first jump in China, amazing, really, really fun. We had a great time here. The bridge is a really fun place to jump. I think to be able to build these kinds of bridges, it's really impressive."

With 92.5 percent of its areas covered by mountains and hills, Guizhou has built nearly 30,000 bridges, and now is home to nearly half of the 100 highest bridges in the world. It is working to promote the integration of its bridges, sports and tourism.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Guiyang, China.
(XHTV)