Parkour Archive: Manpower

Manpower is without a doubt the most iconic gap in parkour, named for the business that used to be in the building, people have travelled from all over the world to Evry, France to jump and flip it, we've curated a timeline of all the progressions of the gap over the years.

The dates given are based on when the videos were uploaded, so it's possible that some of these are actually the first to be uploaded and not necessarily the first time it was done, but it's all we have to go on. The names provided are also just based on what we can find on social media.

• 1998 - First recorded footage of David Belle jumping Manpower, he has said that he had done the jump before this but it was never filmed until the famous 'Speed Air man' video. - You can see it at 1:31 in the video https://youtu.be/kWJHSyjVMY8

• August 2009 - Peter Spoelma is the first person to jump Manpower from standing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPacE1tjLiY

• June 2013 - Kevin Fluri becomes the first person to flip Manpower - You can see it at 0:37 in the video https://youtu.be/eb4B4iPSxec?t=37

• July 2015 - Leo Urban is the first person to jump manpower without rolling on landing. - You can see it at 3:58 in this video https://youtu.be/ORIdrTaTU5k - There's also some alternate angles and full speed clips that were uploaded to Instagram a few years later https://www.instagram.com/p/BqckOm1FUAq/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/BqraAu6F7-3/

• October 2017 - Harry Davies does the first standing sideflip over the gap - You can see it at 11:20 in this video https://youtu.be/mkiVs2Z-4s0

• June 2019 - Leo Urban does manpower barefoot with no roll - https://www.instagram.com/p/ByslMs7IwLl/ and https://youtu.be/HxxOiQ9UvRI

• August 2019 - Ole Mørland Johnsen is the first person to flip the gap without using ledge as a take off - https://www.instagram.com/p/B0q9S2RnO2_/ 

• September 2019 - Max Ward does the first hurdle over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_b9y2laIe/ - you can also see it at 3:57 in this video https://youtu.be/ky4wxeQj8FE which is a segment from a feature length documentary of a Europe road trip which you can watch for free here https://youtu.be/F6VQBu6bpTA

• September 2019 - Max ward also is the first person to jump manpower naked - Censored https://www.instagram.com/p/B19hXgGFMvk/ - You can also see it at 3:13 in this video https://youtu.be/ky4wxeQj8FE which is a segment from a feature length documentary of a Europe road trip which you can watch for free here https://youtu.be/F6VQBu6bpTA

• July 2020 - Leonardo Roof does the first standing gainer over the gap - You can see it at 10:35 in this mini documentary in his journey https://youtu.be/yVY5ugnPGmM - You can also see multiple angles here https://www.instagram.com/p/CC_RZ8uHue6/ - and a slow mo angle here https://www.instagram.com/p/CCoN0oHH0KM/

• August 2020 - First time Manpower is done from the lower level of the staircase - I can't find an original upload or even a name of who did it, but it can be seen at 11:08 in this mini documentary on Manpower from JimmyTheGiant, the Instagram account credited no longer seems to exist https://youtu.be/TPgSonoBWQk?t=669

• January 2022 - Choukaye does the first cork over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/CZWcUjIoeHH/ - You can also see it at 10:32 in this video https://youtu.be/dXsShgWH6yQ

• February 2022 - Teddy Ponceau does the first double sideflip over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/CZmmzbhgCOf

• March 2022 - Theophile Orvelin does the first 360 dive front flip over the gap https://www.instagram.com/p/CakaZeogmQK/

• March 2022 - Dorian Charnaud does the first running 720 jump over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/Caus9wysbtL/ you can also see a compilation of his progression to it here https://www.instagram.com/p/CaxRJSAA117/

• May 2022 - Lilou Ruel becomes the first Woman to jump Manpower - https://www.instagram.com/p/CdGk7iVlzqX/ and https://youtu.be/TIIftzd8sVE

• November 2022 - Lola Roy is the first woman to do Manpower with a running take off - https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck6Hl4XIWKd/

• 2023 - Alexander Green does the first front flip to roll across the gap, his instagram account has been deleted so we don't have the exact month that he does it in or teh original upload of the video but he wins one of the 2023 Storror awards for doing it. They feature the upload at 10:11 in the video here https://youtu.be/Mywg0kDXX2c?t=611 and the clips has also been reuploaded here https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jOqQ1FYldj0 

• March 2023 - Andres Latorre does the first 360 across manpower - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpaRfPooRQj/

• July 2023 - Thomas Ettel does the first cat pass over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/CvUvp_iJoAC/

• October 2023 - Jan Lange does the first kong front flip over the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx55apCNaa0/

• June 2024 - Not strictly parkour but Aiden Knox does the first hacky sack foot stall across the gap - https://www.instagram.com/p/C8cHy69tBEY/ 

If there are any progressions of Manpower that we've missed or any footage we've not linked to then let us know in the comments below.