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Speed Parachuting
GOLD STANDARD
In Speed Skydiving competitors free-fall
head-down to accelerate. Exiting the aircraft
at 4,000m they are then timed over 1,000m,
between 2,700m and 1,700m, before they
decelerate and deploy their parachute. They
land normally, above. An elite discipline, only
15 competitors were invited to compete in
Dubai.
FASTEST MAN IN THE AIR
Switzerland’s Marco Wiederkehr won gold. “I
hit 533km/h. That’s 140 metres a second, or
1,000m in 6.5 seconds.” He added, “There are
only six people in the world who have gone
faster than 500km/h in speed skydiving and
they are all here.”
SPEED THRILLS
“Normal speed for a belly-down skydiver is
220km/h,” explained Marco. “We change our
body position to be as streamlined as possible,
like an arrow.” Switzerland’s Markus Fuchs,
right, landing after a jump.