9th Day of Competition JWGC

The 14th Junior World Gliding Championships in Elchingen remain thrilling right up to the final flight. Even on the ninth day of competition, the top pilots were neck and neck. Amid blistering heat and initially strong blue thermals, tactical skill, endurance and above all, strong nerves were once again essential. The start was postponed by 30 minutes on Wednesday. The weather conditions promised a challenging day for the competition. The thermals first had to develop before the pilots could be sent out on the course. In the Club Class, things did not work out as hoped this time for German medal contender Nils Zitzelsberger. The task took the pilots over Dietfurth, north of Ingolstadt, and the Feuchtwangen highway intersection, among other locations, before heading back to Aalen-Elchingen. Depending on the route chosen, the distances flown varied significantly. The day’s victory went to Petr Mašík of the Czech Republic with 820 points. He covered 247.78 kilometers in 2:33:11 hours, achieving an average speed of 97.05 km/h. In second place was Belgian pilot Michiel Haemels, followed by Australian Amber Davison and Norwegian Nikolai Pontoppidan, who tied for third place. The overall results remain extremely close. Australia’s Max Scutchings leads with 6,588 points, ahead of France’s Nicolas Caudrelier with 6,512 points. Nils Zitzelsberger is just one point behind in third place with 6,511 points. That means despite a difficult day, everything is still possible for the German pilot. The ninth day of competition was even more successful for the German team in the Standard Class. The German pilots delivered a consistent team performance and took third through sixth place. Only the two British pilots at the top were faster that day. Oscar Butlin secured the day’s victory with 867 points. He flew the 264.81 kilometers in 2:41:55 hours and achieved an average speed of 98.13 km/h. His team mate Oliver Ramsay finished second. For the pilots, this means one thing above all else: keep cool. A wrong tactical decision, a poorly chosen thermal, or an unnecessary loss of time can determine whether they win a medal or their final placement in the last few kilometers. Friday will be the determining finale of the World Championships. That’s when the final competition day is scheduled. The pilots will have only one more opportunity to improve their position or launch an attack on the top spots. The Junior World Gliding Championships in Elchingen have already set a special record: with a total of eleven flying days, it is the most successful World Championship of the past ten years. But the sporting highlight is yet to come. Today, on the final competition day (Friday), it will be decided who will become world champions in Elchingen and who, after two weeks of challenging flights, might ultimately miss out on the title or a medal by a hair’s width. The second to last day of competition was once again dominated by blue thermals. The start was delayed by 30 minutes.