Following high-wire accident, Circus Sarasota 2017 goes on

Wire-walking legend Nik Wallenda said the “show must go on” and will walk the tightrope tonight during an invitation-only dress rehearsal for Circus Sarasota 2017, which officially opens Feb. 10, on property adjacent to The Mall at University Town Center. 

He and several other performers from his troupe will perform in the circus, as planned, albeit in a different format.

The appearance will put Wallenda on the wire just one day after an accident in which five of eight troupe members sustained injuries after falling from more than 25 feet in the air during practice. 

“Without question, yesterday was the roughest day of my life,” Wallenda said during a press conference Thursday. “You always know it’s a possibility. I never realized it could become a reality.”

Four of the five injured performers were transported as trauma-level victims, but none sustained life threatening injuries. All the performers are expected to make full recoveries, Wallenda said during a press conference today. Doctors said the performers’ flexibility and muscle mass played major roles in minimizing their injuries.

Wallenda said he spoke with each injured troupe member individually, as well as with his family, and unanimously has received their blessing to perform.

Although Wallenda said he wasn't ready to name those injured, a report on TBO.com quoted Wallenda's cousin, Rick Wallenda, as saying his sister, Rietta Wallenda, had suffered a broken hip while Nik Wallenda's sister, Lijana Wallenda, had suffered a broken jaw, lacerated liver and other broken bones. Rick Wallenda was quoted as saying they were the most seriously injured.