Smiling and relaxed, Dutch farmer Jacob de Groot grips a pole and walks to the water’s edge - chasing a thrill he first felt aged 10, vaulting across a canal.

Every summer, Dutch provinces from Friesland to Utrecht leap into “fierljeppen” season - a uniquely Dutch sport combining pole-vaulting, long jump and, when misjudged, unplanned swimming.

“This is really a typically Dutch sport,” De Groot, holder since 2017 of the long jump record at 22.21 metres said