Medals galore! FAI World Air Games champions crowned

Dozens of medals were presented at the first of two ceremonies taking place at the Palm Dropzone today (December 12).

Mounting the podium this time; microlight and gyrocopter pilots, formation parachutists and speed skydivers.

Microlight (Weight-Shift Controlled)

There was rapturous applause as Team GB claimed the gold, silver and bronze medals in the Microlight (Weight-Shift Controlled) competition.

1. David Broom (GBR)
2. Paul Dewhurst (GBR)
3. Rees Keene (GBR)

Gold medallist Broom said: "It's amazing, especially from a British perspective, and we've done it on British built aircraft. It's beyond all our expectations.

Microlight Gyrocopters
Gold in the Microlight Gyrocopters event went to Remco van Ravenzwaaij from The Netherlands, who raised his fists in a victory salute and proved he knew the words to the Dutch national anthem by singing along.

1. Remco van Ravenzwaaij (NLD)
2. Tim Morell (QAT)
3. Roy Davis (USA)

Parachuting Speed

Parachuting Speed gold medallist Marco Wiederkehr of Switzerland set a new world record by hitting a speed of 533km/h while competing here at the FAI World Air Games.

1. Marco Wiederkehr (SUI)
2. Christian Labhart (SUI)
3. Michael Lovemore (GBR)

Parachuting Canopy Formation 2-Way Sequential 

The Parachuting Canopy Formation 2-Way Sequential team event was won by France, the only team made up of two women, plus a male cameraman.

1. France
2. Russia
3. Sweden

"It's not bad, in fact it's awesome," said Team France member Cindy Collot. "We've developed other ways of working, using synchronisation and precision. The new smaller chutes mean we can compete on a level paying field."

Parachuting Formation 4-Way Rotation
It was a "beautiful day" for the Russian Parachuting 4-Way Rotation team, which beat off strong competition from France to collect the gold.

1. Russia
2. France
3. Belarus

Congratulations to all the medallists!

For full results of all the FAI World Air Games competitions, take a look at the Live Scoring on the World Air Games Dubai website.

By Jess Bown and Andy Pag

Photos: FAI Media Team

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