01 Oct 2024

Curt Bartholomew adds another gold to his collection at the 2024 FAI World Canopy Piloting Championships

Of all the canopy pilots to make a splash at the 10th FAI World Canopy Piloting Championships & 4th FAI World Canopy Piloting Freestyle Championships in Pretoria, South Africa, USA’s Curt Bartholomew stood out from a tough crowd to win the World Canopy Piloting Champion title. His teammate Justin Price emerged victorious in the Canopy Piloting Freestyle competition.

Despite the intense competition and some challenging weather conditions at the event (which took place from 22-30 September) USA’s Curt Bartholomew’s exceptional skills in Accuracy, Speed and Distance landed him on top of the podium overall for the 10th FAI World Canopy Piloting Championships. The athlete has won numerous world champion titles during his career.

Curt Bartholomew (USA)

In a post to his fans on Instagram, Bartholomew said,

“It was a crazy roller coaster of a competition. My flying was really strong… I had one major hiccup in Distance with one of the best saves of my career… I won silver in each individual event, some by the closest margins I’ve ever seen. I kept my head down and focused on winning the championships. Congrats to each of the podium finishers...”

The vice-champion was Abdulbari Quabasi of UAE, thanks to his impressive Accuracy results. In bronze medal position was Marcos Darman of Argentina.

Bartholomew also took a silver in the 4th FAI World Canopy Piloting Freestyle Championships, with his teammate Justin Price claiming the champion title. Spain’s Pablo Hernandez Moll took the bronze.

Of the 19 nations competing, UAE became the overall nation champions ahead of France and Australia in the 10th FAI World Canopy Piloting Championships. Top team in the 4th FAI World Canopy Piloting Freestyle Championships were USA, followed by Australia and Canada.

Fourteen FAI record claims were made during the competition, at both continental and world level, and are pending ratification.

Alberto Martin Paracuellos, President of the FAI Skydiving Commission commented:

“I would like to thank Skydive Pretoria, the Parachute Association of South Africa and the Aero Club of South Africa for hosting an excellent competition which has showcased the thrilling and increasingly popular sport of canopy piloting. Many congratulations to all the participants and particularly our 2024 champions.”