The Bright Side: Dutch canal&leaping pole vaulters keep centuries&old tradition alive
Summer is here, which also means it’s "fierljeppen" season in the Netherlands – a unique sport that is practised from the Dutch provinces of Friesland to Utrecht. Competitors sprint towards the water with a 12-metre pole and launch themselves in the air, trying to land on the other side of the canal without falling in. The earliest known competitions date back to around 1767.
Summer is here, which also means it’s "fierljeppen" season in the Netherlands – a unique sport that is practised from the Dutch provinces of Friesland to Utrecht. Competitors sprint towards the water with a 12-metre pole and launch themselves in the air, trying to land on the other side of the canal without falling in. The earliest known competitions date back to around 1767.
