Erendira Wallenda, the wife of famed high wire artist Nik Wallenda, completed her own heart-pounding stunt today, a daring maneuver that involves hanging by her teeth and toes from a hoop dangling out of a helicopter as it flew over Niagara Falls.
The aerialist stunned onlookers as she performed the record-breaking feat, telling people afterwards that the stunt was harder than she expected because of the weather.
"It felt amazing. It was a little more windy than I expected it to be, but then I just put myself back in my backyard where I train all the time," Wallenda said in a press conference following her stunt. "I felt good enough to where I was able to hang by my teeth a second time."
The stunt comes five years after her daredevil husband became the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a high wire, a wildly popular achievement that was televised in in 2012.
Nik Wallenda Fulfills Lifelong Dream in Niagara Falls High Wire Walk High Wire Artist Nik Wallenda Crosses Arizona CanyonNik Wallenda called his wife "a ballerina in the air" during a news conference Thursday detailing the stunt.
Erendira Wallenda assured the public that her training had prepared her for the feat.
"This is something that we train for, so I'm not just going to go out there and be like, 'Oh I hope for the best," she said.
Rebecca Wydysh, a representative for the Niagara County Legislature, presented Wallenda with a proclamation to commemorate her spectacle and declared June 15 as Erendira Wallenda Day in Niagara County.
"I'm just so thankful for the opportunity, so hopefully we can do something together in the next five years," Wallenda said, hinting at a future stunt with her husband.