The event, held from 8 to 19 August, brought together 130 pilots from 30 countries over nine tasks of between 68 and 104 km, flown without accidents and in good conditions throughout the week.
Anna Berger topped the women’s podium ahead of Germany’s Elisa Deutschmann and Italy’s Silvia Buzzi Ferraris.
In the nations ranking, Slovenia won again ahead of host nation North Macedonia and Spain, which reached the team podium largely on the strength of Romero Camacho’s individual bronze.
Overall results
1. Tilen Ceglar (Slovenia)
2. Roger Aeschbacher (Switzerland)
3. Álvaro Romero Camacho (Spain)
Women’s results
1. Anna Berger (North Macedonia)
2. Elisa Deutschmann (Germany)
3. Silvia Buzzi Ferraris (Italy)
Nations results
1. Slovenia
2. North Macedonia
3. Spain
In terms of equipment, Ceglar and runner-up Roger Aeschbacher both flew the Ozone Enzo 3, the same wing on which Anna Berger won the women’s category. Spain’s individual bronze, on the other hand, came on Álvaro Romero Camacho’s Niviuk Icepeak X-One, according to the official results.
The Spanish team was made up of Álvaro Romero Camacho, Fran Reina Lagos, Marcos Sancho Fernández, Víctor Aguilera and Mika Díaz Ruiz, with Iván Colás as team leader.
One of the two youngest pilots on the team, Marcos Sancho Fernández, won two of the championship’s nine tasks: task 2 (97 km, 11 August) and task 6 (102 km, 16 August), according to the official results published on civlcomps.org. He finished 11th overall and summed up his week on his personal Instagram: “11th individually and 🥉 in the team ranking, after 9 tasks and, above all, 2 task wins […] Very happy with the individual result, but especially with that third place for the team. Flying together, pushing to the end and sharing all this with the team makes the result even more special.”
The edition was marked by the absence of the French team, which decided not to attend over a disagreement with the organisers about the conditions of the event. This left out the reigning champions, Maxime Pinot and Constance Mettetal, as well as world champion Baptiste Lambert. Meet director Goran Dimiskovski regretted the situation: “I am very sorry that those pilots were deprived of being part of this event. It is strictly political and I really hope it does not happen again.”
Berger, who thus claims her first European women’s title, wrote on social media after the prize-giving: “I still can’t believe I’m European champion. Very grateful for the best support team, who made this possible.” Deutschmann, second, described her result as “bittersweet”: “Competing is not only about the final result. I am proud of how I flew, how hard I fought and how much I have grown during this European Championship. That is what I take home.”
Kruševo, a regular venue for international competition thanks to its combination of mountain flying and open plains, remains a fixture on the FAI calendar: the 2nd Paragliding Junior World Championship began on 22 August at the same venue.
+Info: fai.org | Full results on civlcomps.org
