It was a big day for medals yesterday (December 12) – the last day of the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. The Sky Dubai Palm Dropzone was the venue for not one but two medal ceremonies, at which dozens of athletes mounted the podium to accept their awards.
Highlights of the day included Parachuting Speed gold medallist Marco Wiederkehr of Switzerland receiving his medal. Now officially the fastest non-motorised man on earth, Wiederkehr set a new world record by registering 533km/h on his first jump here at the FAI World Air Games. “I hit 533km/h,” he said. “That’s 140 metres a second, or a kilometre in 6.5 seconds.” (The U.S. won gold medals in skydiving. Below at right – members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights at the awards ceremony.)
Earlier in the day, there was rapturous applause as David Broom claimed the Microlight (Weight-Shift Controlled) gold medal for Great Britain. “It’s amazing, especially from a British perspective, and we’ve done it on British built aircraft,” Broom said. Golds were also presented to Dutch gyrocopter pilot Remco van Ravenzwaaij.
In the team events, winners included France in the Parachuting Canopy Formation 2-Way Sequential, and Russia in the Parachuting Formation 4-Way Rotation. The day was rounded off in celebratory style, as the FAI World Air Games Airshow balloonists, paramotorists and pilots wowed the crowds at the Palm Dropzone.
Closing the event, FAI President Dr. John Grubbström expressed his gratitude to all those involved. “I now declare the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 successfully closed,” he said.
