Spanish pilot Álvaro Romero Camacho has been crowned champion of the 2nd Paragliding Junior World Championship, held from 22 to 30 August in Krushevo (North Macedonia) over seven tasks of between 51 and 100 km. Romero, from the Club Deportivo Sevilla Parapente, beat Noe Court (Switzerland) and Matthis Nedele (Germany).
The event, organised under the umbrella of the FAI and its free flight commission (CIVL), brings together the world’s best pilots aged 16 to 26 every two years. This second edition was held at the same venue that had hosted the senior European Championship just days earlier, allowing several teams to link both events without travelling.
Overall results
- Álvaro Romero Camacho (Spain) — 3,659.7 points
- Noe Court (Switzerland) — 3,648.8 points
- Matthis Nedele (Germany) — 3,516.3 points
Women’s results
- Ivone Silva — 2,778.9 points
- Kanan Thakur (United Kingdom) — 2,643.1 points
- Zoé Vanhersecke — 2,087.3 points
Nations results
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Germany
In terms of equipment, Romero Camacho and runner-up Noe Court both flew the Niviuk Icepeak X-One with the Niviuk Rocket R harness, while third-placed Matthis Nedele competed on the Ozone Enzo 3 with the Ozone Submarine harness. In the women’s category, champion Ivone Silva flew the Ozone Zeno 2 with the Niviuk Drifter 2 harness, according to the official results.
The pilot from Seville arrived at the junior event on a winning streak: at the preceding European Championship he had taken individual bronze, while the Spanish team — completed by Fran Reina Lagos, Marcos Sancho Fernández, Víctor Aguilera and Mika Díaz Ruiz, with Iván Colás as team leader — also won bronze in the nations ranking. A few days earlier he had shared on social media his excitement at representing Spain “for the third time” at an FAI Category 1 event, saying he arrived in Krushevo “with the same excitement as on the first day” despite last-minute nerves before competing.
The title also confirms a trend: the first edition of this championship, held in 2024 in Tolmin (Slovenia), also went to Spain, with victory for Marcelo Sánchez Vilchez ahead of Justin Puthod (France) and Dusan Surina (Slovakia).
+Info: fai.org | Full results on civlcomps.org
