Competition Wrapped Up In France Saturday

Team USA scored a triple whammy in the Finals of the 2019 FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships Saturday, scoring gold medals in the Formation Skydiving (FS) 8-Way, Vertical Formation Skydiving, and Dynamic 2-Way events. “It was a lot of fun!” said a spokesperson for the FS 8-Way team. “The tunnel is pretty similar to what we train in North Carolina. We had a few adjustments to make, but it’s really nice to fly here.”

Host nation France’s team also put in some fantastic performances to win gold in the Dynamic 4-Way event and the FS 4-Way (Women) competition – delighting the crowd at the Weembi wind tunnel in Lesquin (Lille), France.

Elsewhere, Belgium took victory in the FS 4-Way Open, the Czech Republic won the Junior FS 4-Way, Australia’s Amy Watson scooped gold in the Solo Freestyle (Junior) event, and Rafael Schwaiger of Germany climbed to the top step of the Solo Freestyle (Open) podium.

Across the board, the level at this year’s Championships – held in Lesquin from 17 to 20 April – was extremely high, with amazing displays of grace, control and athleticism in all events. “The competition was great,” Schwaiger said. “I had a really nice difficulty score, which put me in a good position, but I had a couple of rusty rounds too.”

“I trained hard for this and it was a good competition,” Watson added. “It was really fun competing with the other Juniors.”

Results by event:

• FS 4-Way (Open): Belgium came out on top in the FS 4-Way category after a total of 10 rounds. “The competition went really well,” the Belgian team said. “Obviously it had its ups and downs and we had strong competition from France, but it was good.”
• FS 4-Way (Women): This category was really close all the way through, with the teams from France and the UK fighting it out for first place. In the end, France took the win by just two points. “It was not easy,” the French team said. “There was a very big challenge form the British girls.”
• FS 4-Way (Junior): The all-girl Czech Republic team took gold ahead of France and Russia in the FS 4-Way (Junior) event. “It was pretty tough with the French boys pushing us hard, but we really enjoyed it,” the Czech team said.
• FS 8-Way (Open): The USA claimed gold in the FS 8-Way (Open), in which the eight members of each team attempt to make as many holds as possible within the allotted time. Silver medalists the French team said: “Our team is young but fast. We lack a bit of experience but we were proud to beat the strong American team in a couple of rounds.”
• Solo Freestyle (Open): Germany’s Rafael Schwaiger won the closely fought Solo Freestyle (Open) contest after coming out on top of a tie break with Singapore’s Kyra Poh. “I think the level of competition this year is super high,” Poh said. “So I’m really proud of my performance.”
• Solo Freestyle (Junior): Australian competitor Amy Watson grabbed gold in the Solo Freestyle (Junior) event after seven rounds of intense action. Silver medalist Malachi DeAth of Canada said: “It’s been real fun. I love the community and how we’re all congratulating each other between rounds.”
• Vertical Formation Skydiving: The USA triumphed in the Vertical Formation Skydiving event after winning an epic battle with Russia for the top spot. “We lost a couple of years ago in Montreal to the French team,” the USA team said. “But we took the indoor meet a little more seriously this time, and we had a good one.”
• Dynamic 4-Way: The crowd screamed with delight as France claimed gold in the Dynamic 4-Way event. “Wow, that was awesome,” the French team said. “We won the free, we won the speed, we won the title!”
• Dynamic 2-Way: A team made up of brother and sister Kaleigh and Noah Wittenburg (USA) came out on top in the Dynamic 2-Way event, prompting tears of joy from both of them. Noah Wittenburg said: “It’s incredible! We’ve worked so hard for so long for this, it means everything.”

(Image provided with FAI news release)

FMI: www.fai.org