"Konyukhov flies, and I jump — we are very comfortable for each other"

Last week, Russian extreme skydiver and base jumper Sergey Boytsov set a world record by jumping from a thermal balloon from a height of 11,551 m in the Altai Territory. The 32-year-old athlete spent two and a half minutes in free fall, opening his parachute at an altitude of 1,569 m. The project, called "Leap from the Stratosphere", caused a wide response. In an interview with Izvestia, Boitsov spoke about the features of the record jump and the preparation for it, the help of Russian manufacturers and the differences from his jump from the tower of the Lakhta Center. The extreme athlete also shared his plans to make a joint flight with Fyodor Konyukhov, his impressions of playing in the football media league and explained why he considers himself a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo.

— What were the main specifics and difficulties of this jump?

— Regarding the technical part, it would be better for you to answer the balloon pilot. But the main feature here is that the balloon was thermal, not helium. Felix Baumgartner and Alan Eustace held the record, jumping from 38,000 and 41,000 meters, respectively. They jumped from helium balloons. We are flying on a thermal balloon. The difference is that helium flies due to pressure and helium-filled air. It does not require a pilot, a burner, heat, and so on. And our thermal balloon flies precisely due to fire, internal pressure, and heat, which is difficult to create in conditions of high altitude and cold. Therefore, in the video, our ball in the outer shell looked like it was covered in smoke. Because the evaporation was strong due to the strong pressure, the fire inside and the intense cold outside — minus 59 degrees.

So it was a big challenge to refine the burners. There are no ready-made solutions on how to climb to such a height. It's good that last year there was already a record by Ivan Menyailo (President of the Aeronautical Sports Federation. — Ed.) and Fyodor Konyukhov, who climbed 10,700 m. And Vanya was just a pilot with us when I jumped. Accordingly, he took some moments from that climb, modified the burner, and it allowed us to get to the desired height. And the difficulty is just to raise a thermal balloon there. Unlike helium. And here the main issues were precisely in the burner, the design of the balloon basket and the shell itself. But thanks to the knowledge and improvements, we have reached this height.

— So the main difficulty is not to jump off, but to climb to this height at all?

— In general, the task here is to get up first. That is, it is a team effort, not an individual one. Then you have to jump out so that the pilot lands the balloon, everything is safe, and he can land at the desired location. Accordingly, the calculations of my flight also depended on this, because the balloon reached a speed of 90 km/h. And we were blown 100-150 km sideways, which made the location where I was jumping unclear — this is another important difference between our balloon.

— How long did it take to prepare for the event?

— Our deadlines here are not entirely objective, because we acquire certain qualities from year to year.: I'm into parachuting and physics, Ivan is into pilot and weather. So we managed to do all this in six months in turbo mode, when we worked day and night. For others, without this "turbo mode" everything would take a couple of years. But the organizational part began about a year ago, when documents, letters, various approvals and registration of permits for the event were prepared.

— What is the degree of risk?

— It is difficult to assess it, because the risk can arise at any unclear moment, as we are trying to set a world record and do something new. But Ivan relies heavily on his calculations and is confident in what he is doing regarding the aerial part. And I'm confident in how I jump. So according to our calculations, everything should be fine. But there were risks. An important role is played by the speed on which the flight time depends, because oxygen is pumped into the equipment for a certain duration. If it doesn't add up, the risks are fatal.

— What kind of equipment and equipment do you use — imported or Russian-made?

— If we take the stationary mode, then everything was made in Russia. We didn't have anything foreign on us. Everything is made by Russian people and Russian production — a satchel, a dome, a balloon, oxygen equipment. Plus, the insulated gear I was wearing. Thanks a lot to everyone who made it. But it should also be noted that it was a great opportunity for manufacturers to test their products in such difficult conditions.

In such circumstances, you need to be sure that it will work. All productions treated this professionally, with due attention and understanding that this is a new challenge, since it is not every day that something rises to its maximum height and is tested. But at the same time, there were good calculations — all the specialists did a great job, and a new experiment was implemented 100% in each direction. Thanks to unity, cohesion and hard work, we finalized everything, accumulated it, made it safe, and everything went well.

— Was this balloon jump more difficult than your previous high-profile record in 2023, when you made a long jump from the 87th floor of the Lakhta Center?

— Skydiving (jumping from an aircraft. — Ed.) and base jumping (jumping from a fixed object. — Ed.) are generally two different sports. There is no reserve parachute in base jumping, low altitudes, very little time to make a decision, and very high risks. We need to reveal everything in time and fly. When jumping from home, it is very important to fly as much as necessary. If you fall a little and open the parachute earlier, then the dome will start to roll and fill up for a long time. And there's a risk that when it fills up, you'll get spun around. If you fall low, there is a risk that you will not be able to deploy your parachute or reach the desired point under the dome. There are a lot of risks and very little time.

A high-altitude jump is convenient in this regard, since there are devices. If you suddenly faint or something happens to you, your device opens the parachute after 300 meters. But there is discomfort due to the technical part: you are wearing everything, oxygen is trapped, you cannot really move normally. And if something happens, you don't have enough mobility to take the necessary measures. And with oxygen itself, numerous calculations are needed. In general, there are many technical parts that affect the jump, but the jump itself is safer because of the height. And in skyjumping, seconds decide a lot.

— What motivated you to do all this?

— It develops personal qualities. At the initial stage, it was following your soul, your desires. Then there were creative impulses. They were implemented — jumping out of helicopters, balloons, shooting this. Then I started coming up with projects. I realized that money is needed for this. He began to attract sponsors. Therefore, production, beautiful shots, jumps, and people began to unite around this idea. Then it turned into cool content that began to spread around the world. And then it grew into projects with platforms under the balloon, where I began to combine sports.

And through this, we have already popularized our flag all over the world. This has all grown into a national innovation that is unique in the world. It is no coincidence that American and Brazilian athletes are now fully copying our ideas and fighting for records there. So we are moving in this extreme direction, combining different sports. For me, this is a way to achieve unity, team spirit and inspire other people, because through these records a lot of people learn, understand how life can be scaled, how a dream can lead to a big system. I like to give people development, freedom, the opportunity to receive emotions and go towards their goals.

— You mentioned Fyodor Konyukhov, who together with Ivan Menyailo set the previous record for jumping from a balloon. Do you communicate with him?

— Fyodor Filippovich and I discussed possible joint projects. I wanted to do a generational unification project with him. So far, we have stopped at this stage. We were looking for solutions. I had the opportunity to participate in this project with my recent jump. But it is very difficult to connect many factors together. That's why it didn't work out now, but there are thoughts and discussions. Time will tell how everything will turn out. The logic here is simple: Fyodor Filippovich flies, and I jump. In this regard, we are very comfortable with each other (laughs).

— You played football at the amateur level and competed in the media league, where last year you played a match with blogger Mikhail Litvin at an altitude of 1800 meters, on a platform raised by a balloon. Are you planning to play more or come up with similar tricks?

— I used to run in it, and then I got injured. And I'm not running yet. There's no time to be simple. I want to, but I don't have time. And the risks of injury are high. Why break the record holder? (laughs). But there were moments when I played a couple of matches for the Nashe Delo team. And this year I ran for Titan. But now I'm focused on my records, sometimes I do collaborations, but very selectively.

— Did this media football story even get to you?

- no. I told one of their internal correspondents that they have cool stuff, various shows. But the main thing is that it doesn't outweigh professional sports. At least it's important to me that the sport develops. Yes, you can attract attention, but inside, sports must remain sports. If he turns into a completely hype story, then I don't really like that. If it's all rational and dosed, then it's acceptable. But when there is a checkmate, it's not very good. But it also attracts a lot of young people. That is, the story is very controversial. But it all depends on the personal qualities of the people who are paying attention to what. Someone wants to swear, someone wants to play. But the fact that it gives children the opportunity to play football is cool and good.

— Is professional football interesting?

— I follow in moderation, insofar as. I really love football — I've been playing it since I was a kid. I like it, I love watching it. And he especially loved when the Russian national team played at international tournaments. But there's very little time for that right now. In the summer, I watched the World Cup in the evenings, but nothing more.

— Do you have any favorite teams or players?

— Cristiano Ronaldo. I respect him very much for his human qualities, for his views, for his hard work and the fact that he knows how to present it. The difference from Messi is that no matter how talented he is, he doesn't know how to present it like Cristiano. It's also important for me to present everything in a way that motivates more people. I like Ronaldo because he remains a workaholic who continues to give the right message to people and especially to children.

Is it sad that he's going to finish playing soon?

— To be honest, I don't miss many people at all, because I'm very focused on my life and I try to work hard. But it seems to me that it will be a sad story, because Cristiano motivates. And it will also be sad that their rivalry with Messi will end — this also has its own victories, defeats and emotions. After all, football, like my projects and records, is an emotion in which people are looking for their way, their thoughts and solutions.