Skydiving-South African Wallis pushes wingsuit flying to global heights

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CAPE TOWN - With the jagged peaks of Cape Towns 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 worlds 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 worlds 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.

Ive 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 told Reuters.

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 theres a bit of a misconception that its 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