Daredevil Nik Wallenda wowed the world with back-to-back walks on a tightrope between Chicago skyscrapers without a safety net or a harness, performing one of them blindfolded, as a crowd gasped and cheered.

"I feel incredible," Wallenda said at a news conference afterward on Sunday night.

He said strong winds and the steeper-than-expected angle of the first high wire caused him to hurry his performance. Wallenda had practiced at a 15-degree angle but said the wire was actually at 19 degrees.