ST. CATHARINES, Ontario (Reuters) - An American who survived a plunge over Niagara Falls and went on to sign a lucrative deal as a circus stuntman, was fined C$3,000 ($2,256) on Thursday.
Kirk Jones, 41, whose $100,000 circus contract also stipulates he is entitled to an unlimited supply of shaved-ice snow cones, pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to mischief and to unlawfully performing a stunt.
"I understand what I did was wrong," Jones told reporters outside the courtroom. "You'll never see an action in Niagara waters with my name written on it again."
Jones said he was afraid of heights but that he had been seeking "a new challenge in his life" when he took the plunge over the falls in October.
The Michigan resident said he was physically ill as he approached the massive cataract on the day of his jump.
"The walk I walked from the parking lot across the street was one of the longest walks of my life," he told Reuters. "I really threaded the needle that day."
At the end of that Oct. 20 walk, Jones climbed over a wrought iron barrier and jumped into the swift-flowing water that tossed him over the brink of Niagara's biggest cataract, the Horseshoe Falls.
The Horseshoe Falls straddle the Canadian-U.S. border between Ontario and New York state.
In earlier days, daredevils braved the drop in barrels and on boards, but such stunts are now illegal.
Jones was the first person to survive the 150-foot fall without any sort of safety device. He wore just two jackets, a shirt, blue jeans and a pair of running shoes.
He suffered a few broken ribs, but the fall made him a celebrity, with several TV appearances and a possible book deal. He is also the headline act in a 120-city circus tour next year.
Philip Dolci, assistant manager of Toby Tyler Circus in Sarasota, Florida, said he hired a detective to locate Jones after hearing of the feat. Dolci said potential stunts being considered for Jones included being shot out of a cannon over the Rio Grande and Grand Canyon.
Kirk Jones, 41, whose $100,000 circus contract also stipulates he is entitled to an unlimited supply of shaved-ice snow cones, pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to mischief and to unlawfully performing a stunt.
"I understand what I did was wrong," Jones told reporters outside the courtroom. "You'll never see an action in Niagara waters with my name written on it again."
Jones said he was afraid of heights but that he had been seeking "a new challenge in his life" when he took the plunge over the falls in October.
The Michigan resident said he was physically ill as he approached the massive cataract on the day of his jump.
"The walk I walked from the parking lot across the street was one of the longest walks of my life," he told Reuters. "I really threaded the needle that day."
At the end of that Oct. 20 walk, Jones climbed over a wrought iron barrier and jumped into the swift-flowing water that tossed him over the brink of Niagara's biggest cataract, the Horseshoe Falls.
The Horseshoe Falls straddle the Canadian-U.S. border between Ontario and New York state.
In earlier days, daredevils braved the drop in barrels and on boards, but such stunts are now illegal.
Jones was the first person to survive the 150-foot fall without any sort of safety device. He wore just two jackets, a shirt, blue jeans and a pair of running shoes.
He suffered a few broken ribs, but the fall made him a celebrity, with several TV appearances and a possible book deal. He is also the headline act in a 120-city circus tour next year.
Philip Dolci, assistant manager of Toby Tyler Circus in Sarasota, Florida, said he hired a detective to locate Jones after hearing of the feat. Dolci said potential stunts being considered for Jones included being shot out of a cannon over the Rio Grande and Grand Canyon.
im sure this was a deciding factor in the deal
