14 Oct 2024

European PGA Champions: Pavlov, Tomaskova, Schubert, and team Czechia.

The 8th FAI European Paragliding Accuracy Championships successfully concluded in Gjirokastër, Albania. The event, held from October 4th to 12th, 2024, was organized by the "Albania Open Air" club on behalf of the National Air Sports Control (NAC) of Albania.

A total of 100 pilots from 22 countries—81 men and 19 women—gathered in Gjirokastër to compete. The competition featured twelve rounds, with a knockout (KO) system used to progressively eliminate pilots. Only those with the best results advanced through the rounds: 60 pilots from round 6 to round 7, 40 from round 7 to round 8, and the top 20 competed in rounds 11 and 12. Similarly, only the six best teams advanced from round 7 onwards.

The organizers also welcomed two guest pilots, one from Canada and one from China. The latter, Yang Chen, emerged as the overall winner with a remarkable total of just 9 cm. Although he recorded three zeros during the competition, they were not consecutive.

The winner of the FAI 1 category and the new European Accuracy Champion was Ivan Pavlov from Serbia. Pavlov’s outstanding performance included four zeros, three of which were consecutive. He was closely followed by young German pilot Linus Schubert, who also achieved four zeros. The two ended round 12 in a tie, resulting in a fly-off to determine the final podium positions. Notably, Linus and his brother Lennard Schubert, both junior pilots, were among the top 20 who flew the final two rounds.

Migjen Shala from Kosovo had 4 consecutive zeros. He led the competition until round 9, when he lost the overall lead to Yang Chen of China. In round 10, he was overtaken by Ivan Pavlov in the European Overall category, and by Linus Schubert in round 12. By the end of the event, Shala was just 1 cm short of claiming gold or silver.

In the team rankings, Germany held third place and Slovenia fourth at round 10. In round 11, Kosovo pushed Czechia down to claim the top spot. However, Czechia reclaimed the gold in round 12, while Slovenia secured the bronze.

In the Junior category, the Schubert brothers dominated, taking gold and silver. The third junior, Flavio Funiati from France, finished 21st in round 10 and did not advance to the final rounds. Lennard Schubert also placed fourth in the European Overall category.

In the women’s category, Marketa Tomaskova, now flying under the Polish flag, was the clear leader. Her score of 64 was nearly double that of the next pilot on the podium—Spela Krnc of Slovenia with 111 and Pilar Montero Gonzalez of Spain with 128. Tomaskova's result also placed her 29th in the overall competition rankings.

Congratulations to all the winners!