Robbie Maddison hospitalised after horror smash

Australian jump King punctures lung performing backflip




Maddison damaged his stomach in the fall

LONG JUMP King Robbie Maddison has been speaking from his hospital bed after an horrific crash left him with a gashed hip and punctured stomach.

Aussie Maddison crashed in Melbourne as he attempted a backflip for
assembled media but was hit by a gust of wind on the way down and landed awkwardly, crashing onto a concrete floor.

Speaking from the Royal Melbourne hospital, he said: "There was a slight drizzle and a bit of a crosswind but I was confident that the move could still be safely pulled off. The down ramp was slippier than I had anticipated and the fall was disappointing."

The punctured lung is just the latest in the long-jump record holder’s career. Hailed as the new Evel Knievel, Maddison has racked-up an almost-as impressive list of injuries as the American icon, including; punctured lungs, snapped anterior cruciate ligaments, fractured vertebrae, five spinal taps, a brain haemorrahge and numerous broken bones.

Maddison set a new world record of 322 feet for the longest distance jumped on a motorbike in Las Vegas on New Year’s eve – he plans to beat that with a 350ft-long jump in Calder, Australia on March 29th. His latest injuries are not expected to stop him performing the record attempt.

Photo: M.Potter