French Roller-skater Sets New World Record in Paris

French roller-skating champion Taïg Khris has set a new world record by landing an extraordinary 29-metre (95 feet) jump in front of the Sacre Cœur Basilica in Paris.

Tens of thousands of Parisians gathered outside the famous landmark on Saturday to witness the 35-year-old's record-breaking jump. Khris' effort smashed the previous record of 24 metres, set by American Danny Way.

Having successfully completed his first jump, Khris repeated the stunt if front of the giant crowd, adding a front flip to send the cheers sky-high. Khris successfully landed both jumps but was forced to crash rather less gracefully into a bungalow-sized airbag in order to break his speed.

Saturday's jump was not the three-time world champion’s first record-breaking attempt. Last year, he dropped out of the first floor of the Eiffel Tower (almost 40 metres high) onto a vertical ramp, setting the world record for the highest roller-skate jump.

Khris’ passion for rollerblades began when he was only six years old and the Frenchman has gone on to compete around the globe in a number of professional tournaments. 

He was awarded gold at the 2001 X-Games, after performing the first double-backflip in the competition's history.

World's largest hamburger created by chefs at Alameda County Fair

Now that's a mouthful: Grill chefs at the Alameda County Fair wowed the crowds - and Guinness World Record officials - by unveiling the largest commercially available hamburger, weighing in at an incredible 777lbs.

The burger, which easily surpassed the previous record of 590lbs cooked by barbecue chef Ted Reader in Toronto, Canada, last May, was unveiled at the weekend. 

It was created by the combined genius of Brett Enright from Juicy's Outlaw Grill in Phoenix and Nick Nicora from local company Ovations Food Services.

The burger took 15 hours to cook, having started at 5am in order to have the hefty meal ready for an 8pm sit-down, and was made with just one huge beef patty.

Mr Enright said he came up with the idea while on a month off from his job in December. 'I thought, "I bet I could build the world's largest burger",' he said. 'So I looked it up.'

Anyone that fancied a taste of the burger behemoth paid 99c, with all proceeds going to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. But a beast of a burger isn't the only claim to fame for the famous fair, which is held annually in Pleasanton, California.

Couple Win Wife-carrying Race for 3rd Time

Taisto Miettinen and Kristiina Haapanen have once again proved that they are the top wife-carrying team in Finland, after the couple won the infamous race for the third time running. The pair were victorious in the novelty race in Sonkajarvi on Sunday, taking the title for the third consecutive year.

No other couple in the 16-year history of the competition has managed to take three successive wife-carrying championships. The event sees husbands sprint 250 metres, leap hurdles and then cross a water pool in around one minute.

Throughout, each man must carry his 'wife' - competitors do not have to be married - over his shoulders, with her legs wrapped around his neck. However, their latest victory was hard-earned, with Taisto and Kristiina taking the victory by less than a second.

Miettinen said: 'The course was trickier this year due to the water obstacle, which was deeper. 'The weather conditions were also particularly tough, 30 degrees C is too much for me.'

As befitting any true champions, he then revealed that dedicated preparation - in this case practicing the course in ski boots beforehand - was the key to their victory. The pair will now enjoy Kristiina's weight in beer as their prize.

Legend has it that the sport of wife-carrying is based on the story of Finnish thief Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen, who was said to steal food and women from nearby villages and run off carrying them over his head.