World Record Made to Promote French Muscular Dystrophy Telethon

French balloonist Remi Ouvrard made his mark on hot air balloon history, when he rode standing atop a balloon envelope to a new record altitude. Launched from Chatellerault, France, Ouvrard made the feat to promote the 35th AFM Téléthon for the French Muscular Dystrophy Association. The target altitude, 3,637 meters, coincided with the Telethon campaign number, but the lift reached a maximum of 4,016 meters (13,176 feet) at its height. Dressed in a spacesuit costume, tethered to a small platform where he was equipped with a small, folding camp chair, he held up the telethon phone number for the photo op.

The 28-year-old Frenchman hitched a ride aboard his father's balloon in his most recent feat. In a previous attempt in 2020, he balanced atop the balloon envelope almost 4,000 feet above sea level. When asked how he felt after he returned to earth, he told reporters that he felt "calmness mixed with the excitement of the performance. When we passed 3,500 meters, I knew that we could get the 4,000. We had to beat the iron when it was still hot," he said. Ouvrard can't wait to try for another one. "I told my father about it 3 days ago," he said. "I have an idea for next year's telethon."

The AFM Telethon supports patients and their families affected by genetic, rare, and progressive neuromuscular diseases that create difficult living conditions. Laurence Tiennot-Herment, President of AFM-Telethon, considered this 35th Telethon to be crucial, saying prior to the event:

“Genetic diseases destroyed the lives of our children and families. We had nothing to combat them: no means, no treatments. Resigning ourselves was unthinkable, so we created the Telethon. We wanted to bring research to life. We wanted to revolutionize medicine. Year after year, your loyal support has helped us achieve our goal. Tomorrow, with support from everyone, the Telethon can keep on changing everything! We have led and innovated; we must now strengthen our efforts so we can tell new parents who feel hopeless about a diagnosis: “We have a treatment for your child”. 

FMI: www.afm-telethon.com