U.S. Hosts Skydiving World Championships
The 2016 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Parachuting Championships Mondial came to the U.S. for the first time ever September 11-20 at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois. While the U.S. has hosted skydiving world championships in the past, this marked the first time for a Mondial, or all events. The Mondial included five skydiving disciplines, drawing 700 competitors from 38 nations for the Olympics of skydiving. Over the course of the event, they made 2,547 skydives from a fleet of five Twin Otters and two Cessna Caravans.
The event kicked off on September 11 with an opening ceremony that included a parade of nations and a demonstration jump with one of the skydivers carrying a 5,000-square-foot U.S. flag.
The elite U.S. Parachute Team had one of the largest delegations, with more than 70 members. The U.S. Team earned gold medals in 4-way female, 8-way and vertical formation skydiving; silver in 4-way formation skydiving, female style and female overall style & accuracy; and bronze in artistic freestyle.
