Fedor Konyukhov, who had previously conquered both the north and south poles solo, is on the final leg back to Western Australia and is set to break the current record when he lands on July 23, 2016, his crew said.
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“He’s landed, he’s safe, he’s sound, he’s happy”, Mr Wallington said.
The state has just played host as the start and finish line in a record-breaking balloon flight that further confirms Australia’s place among the world’s top sporting nations. “It’s all good”, he added.
“We’ve asked him to keep moving to try and get away from the hills and the power lines”, Smith said.
A little bruised and battered from the bumpy landing, Konyukhov exited his hot air balloon pod exhausted but smiling.
And, he reportedly passed directly over the field in Western Australia where he initially took off from 11 days before – an extremely hard feat in a balloon that’s very challenging to steer.
Fedor Konyukhov circumnavigated the globe in just over 11 days, beating the 13-and-a-half day record set by the late Steve Fossett in 2002, ABC Australia reports.
Earlier there was excitement when the balloonist first appeared over the skies of Perth around lunchtime on Saturday and later flew right over Northam airfield from where he had taken off 11 days earlier.
“After going 34,000 kilometres (21,100 miles) around the world he crossed the runway where he took off from”, Mr Smith said.
He used a bucket for a toilet and emptied it over the side.
Konyukhov’s team said landing the balloon was the most challenging and unsafe part of the journey, with late afternoon the best time.
The then 58-year-year-old emerged from the capsule with a bloodied mouth from biting his lip during the rough landing, but was otherwise unhurt.
The Swiss-based World Air Sports Federation has yet to confirm a new record.
The Australian entrepreneur and fellow adventurer Dick Smith, who was there to see him off, helped crews stabilise the balloon as it hit the ground.
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Before setting off for the expedition, his wife Arina told Reuters: “It was his dream from his youth and, he always says [to] me, one of his most [biggest] dreams and one of the most hard dreams is to [go] up on air-balloon”.
