Slam Dunk from the Sky

Two US university students have made history by successfully making what is said to be the world’s longest basketball shots. From their vantage point in the gondola of the Goodyear blimp, hovering 500 feet above the ground, Stacey Freyer and Jennifer Hanson – both avid supporters of their University basketball teams – cast a regulation size basketball towards a 100-foot hoop on the ground.

Freyer and Hanson were amongst four students selected to attempt the shot, winners of the Goodyear “Get There” Blimp Shot Contest, part of the tyremaker’s new nationwide advertising campaign. In recognition of their successful shots both Freyer and Hanson received a number of “Get There” prizes, including travel, accommodation and tickets for two to attend one of the sporting events for which the Goodyear blimp will provider aerial coverage for during the next 12 months. As an added bonus, video of both winning shots and the balls they used will be added to the exhibits at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts.

When asked about her shot, Hanson said, “I thought I missed it by a mile. And then, while the ball was falling, it looked like it changed direction. I saw it hit that target and bounce up and then I knew I made it. I was surprised, but it was a good surprise.” Freyer added that “everyone was excited, even the pilots.”