OTTAWA, Ill. — Traveling at speeds of up to 240 mph, 164 skydivers flying head-down built the largest ever vertical skydiving formation Friday over central Illinois, smashing the previous record.

It took the international team 13 attempts to beat the 2012 mark set by 138 skydivers. The formation, resembling a giant flower, floated above the rural drop zone in Ottawa for a few seconds before the flyers broke away, deployed their parachutes, and whooped and hollered their way to the ground to the jubilation of spectators.

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