Aerial photographs show the moment 65 women jumped out of planes from 18,000 feet to join...

Aerial photographs show the moment 65 women jumped out of planes from 18,000 feet to join...

Mangalore Today News Network

Sixty-three women from around the world linked hands as they plunged head first toward the Arizona desert on Saturday, shattering the female vertical formation skydiving record, the U.S. Parachute Association said.

The skydivers leaped from three aircraft at 18,000 feet near Eloy, about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix, said Nancy Koreen, the association’s director of sport promotion.

The women were from countries that included the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico, France, Norway, Sweden and Germany.

Girls rule! 65 women from across the world set a new vertical skydiving record in Arizona today

It’s official: The jump was certified a world record by the Federation of Aeronautics international

Competitive: Nearly 100 women turned out Thursday to compete for the chance to dive today

The record came on the twelfth attempt.

It shattered the all-women head-first record set by 41 women in 2010, Koreen said.

’Everyone has to perform together, which is what makes the record so challenging,’ Koreen, who took part in the successful attempt, told Reuters.

Judges of the Swiss-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale verified the record attempt at the site, she said.

Around the world: The women who participated in the jump come from the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico, France, Norway, Sweden and Germany

Team work: Part of what makes the record so challenging to beat is that the women have to perform in tandem

Vertical skydiving is regarded as more difficult than freefall, belly-to-earth skydiving.

Skydivers hurtle toward the earth at higher speeds - some times as fast as 170mph - in a position that makes control more of a challenge.
 
’When you are on your head, everything happens a lot faster. You have a lot less surface area exposed to the air ... so it’s a harder position to fly and control,’ Koreen said.

Nearly 100 women turned out to compete for the chance to be a part of the dive Thursday.

Challenge: Vertical skydiving is considered more difficult than regular skydiving because the body propels faster to the ground with less resistance

Speeding: Skydivers can reach speeds of 170 mph when jumping head first towards the ground

Participants: A delegation of four British women contributed to today’s world record jump

Courtesy: Dailymail London