Yevgeni Andreyev

Yevgeny Nikolayevich Andreyev was a colonel in the Soviet Air Force. He set an official record for the longest-distance free-fall parachute jump on 1 November 1962, which the Guinness Book of Records put at 24,500 metres (80,400 ft). The previous record holder for highest free-fall jump was Joseph Kittinger. Although Andreyev did not break the record for highest parachute jump, also held by Kittinger, Kittinger's jump was stabilized by a drogue parachute and therefore not free-fall. Andreyev was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for his feat.