Sport—22 Aug 2025

The man putting South Africa on the global map of extreme aerial sports

With the jagged peaks of Cape Town’s Table Mountain beneath him and the wind roaring past his wingsuit, South African Jean-Jacques Wallis is redefining the limits of human flight — and putting South Africa on the global map of extreme aerial sports.

Wallis, 35, is one of the world’s fastest wingsuit flyers, achieving speeds of 230 km/h (143 mph).

After more than two decades mastering the sport, he is preparing to take aim at one of the world’s most prestigious aerial competitions — the 11th WWL Grand Prix, set to take place in mid-September at Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie, China.

He will compete in two high-stakes formats: the slalom speed race, which tests precision and velocity through tight turns, and the target punch competition, where pilots must hit a designated mark mid-flight — a challenge requiring pinpoint control at speeds exceeding 200 km/h.

“I’ve pushed the sport of wingsuiting and base jumping to quite a high level and some jumps are a lot more technical than others. I have to put in a lot of training to do them,” Wallis said.

Wingsuit flying remains one of the most dangerous aerial sports. Global data compiled by and shows injury rates between 1% and 3%, with fatalities estimated at 0.25% to 0.5% per jump.

“Skydiving is a very diverse sport. It has a lot of variety. I think there’s a bit of a misconception that it’s very dangerous or extreme,” Wallis said.

His recent jumps over Table Mountain — captured in July 2025 — show him gliding within meters of the ground before deploying his parachute and landing at dusk.

His flights have helped position South Africa as a rising hub for wingsuit flying.