South Florida

Will Viral Video Lead to South Florida's Next Track Star?

A 10-second, slow-motion video of a teenager from Florida's Hialeah, leaping over a tall fence while wearing a Superman shirt, recently got more than one million views online. The video was so incredible, NBC 6 decided to go find out if it was truly authentic. 

Our search brought us to Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah. Braithe Ferguson, 17, is the jumper. He plays basketball at Champagnat.

The fence from the video measured out to 5-feet, 11-inches tall. Ferguson said he had just finished basketball practice when his friends offered up a challenge, "They know I can jump, so they dared me to jump over it."

"Everybody doubted him," said Thierry Lafortune, the Champagnat senior who shot the viral video on his phone.

Without any hesitation, Ferguson easily jumped over the fence.

"It was crazy," Lafortune said. And yet, after Ferguson pulled off the high-flying feat, he wasn't surprised at all.

"I know I (could) do it because I jump way higher than that," he said.

But what he didn't know is that the video, after getting posted on Twitter, would quickly go viral, "It was on Bleacher Report, World Star, ESPN."

Ferguson said his record jump is close to 6-feet, 6-inches. He was so confident about his skills, he didn't even flinch when NBC'6 Adam Kuperstein asked him to do it again, on the spot. This time, in front of TV cameras, teachers, coaches and even his principal, he jumped the fence with even more room to spare.

Ferguson is hoping all the attention will help him land a college scholarship, and he doesn't mind what it's for. He'd be happy to play basketball, football or even compete in track-and-field, which would be quite a feat in itself, considered he's never officially participated in the high jump.

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