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Parkour: An Athletic Art Worthy of Spider-Man

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Parkour combines the endurance of a long-distance runner and the moves of a gymnast. Enthusiasts are turning New York City streets into staging areas for their own urban gymnastics meet, vaulting over barriers and climbing bridges.

The sport of parkour requires the endurance of a long-distance runner and the moves of a gymnast. It looks like a chase scene from a blockbuster movie: a guy running through the city, scrambling up fire escapes, leaping from building to building like Spider-Man and landing as gently as a cat.

Enthusiasts are turning New York City streets into staging areas for their own urban gymnastics meet, vaulting over barriers and climbing bridges. And this weekend, parkour practitioners from all across the country will descend on the Big Apple for a national gathering.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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