La Nación / Paraguay paratroopers attempt to break national record

Posted On: December 23, 2021

Paraguay already has a national record of skydiving with the head-down modality, after the launch of 12 athletes in a vertical formation or head-down freefall recorded this Thursday morning in the city of San Bernardino. In 2018, 8 local brands have been established. During the day, the same team will try to jump in 13 and 14 ways, which will surpass the Chilean national record of 13 people, and will become the second South American record.

This activity was held on December 20, 21, 22 and today December 23 at the Free Spirit Drop Zone, namely the Sports Club which is located less than an hour from Asunción. This will last until around 7pm today. During the jump, the parachutists reach speeds of 300 kilometers per hour and then form, like a puzzle.

Regarding the event being organized by the Paraguayan Skydiving Association, with support from the National Secretariat for Sport and the Air Force, Juan Pablo Cartes, organizer and athlete, said in contact with La Nación that all participating athletes were Paraguayans and nationals. notes.

Juan Pablo Cartes, organizer and athlete. Photo: Christian Meza.

Considering that this record you are trying to break is one of the most difficult and technical modalities of skydiving, it requires highly trained and trained athletes.

“We tried to break the 14 person free fall record, but so far we have reached 12, which is already a national record. We want to keep zooming in, we want to do 13 and 14 ways. If it’s 13, we tie the second biggest record in South America and if we reach 14, we’ll pass the second biggest record, Chile which is in formation 13, they are very good athletes,” he said.

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There are 14 athletes competing for the record. Photo: Christian Meza.

Juan Pablo explained that the bases of 4 athletes came out, then the rest had to be formed in free fall, they had to take a formation. “It’s like a puzzle, everyone in their position has to be validated, it doesn’t mean you can put yourself anywhere, everything has to fit,” he stressed.

He also commented that with the pandemic issue everything stopped and then seemed to have to start again. “It’s a sport that if you stop training you lose a lot of skills. You can continue to land safely, you won’t hit yourself but technical skills in free fall are lost a lot. It took us about two and a half years to get here,” he added.

He gave an example that there were 14 participants who were waiting to achieve that record. “This heads down record was set twice in Paraguay’s parachuting history in 40 years. It is very difficult to make it happen,” he explained.

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This sport requires careful preparation to achieve the record that athletes are looking for. Photo: Christian Meza.