© Copyright 1997 Paul Klemond
1997 World Paragliding Championship - July 9-26 - Castejon de Sos, Spain
From Left, standing: Paul Klemond, Mary Anne Karren, Todd Bibler, Othar Lawrence, Dave Bridges, Josh Cohn; Seated: Bill Belcourt, Lizzy Opitz.
NEWS 7/23/97: Othar Lawrence is the new US National Champion. He also won the Open -- a visiting foreign pilot usually wins that title. Click here for details.
Contents:
Final Results: US Team finished 6th out of 36 countries! Among the 186 competitors, Todd Bibler finished 14th, Josh Cohn took 22nd, Dave Bridges 28th.
For complete official coverage of this task and the competition, see:
Photos:
Other features:
Prior Bulletins:
Bulletin for Monday, July 21: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, A U.S. PILOT HAS WON A TASK IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! Josh Cohn beat all 182 of the world's best pilots around the 79km course! Dave Bridges and Todd Bibler also made goal.
Sunday, July 20: A really tough day: Dave Bridges came down under reserve (he's fine), and no US pilots reached goal. At least six other competitors threw reserves. Mary Anne Karren flew the farthest of the US pilots.
Saturday, July 19: A tough day - Todd Bibler reaches goal in 11th place. The US team moves up into 9th place, with sights set on the Koreans in 8th. Bibler in 20th overall leads the US, with Dave Bridges close behind in 21st.
Friday, July 18: The US team did incredibly well today, bringing three pilots to goal in the top 20 out of 40 finishers. The other 142 pilots did not reach goal, landing elsewhere along the task's 104 kilometers.
Answer: The top-ranked US pilots from the past two seasons! They are (in alphabetical order):
| Pilot | Wing | Number | Email Address |
| Bill Belcourt | Firebird Cult (red) | 207 | bill@bdel.com |
| Todd Bibler | Edel Sector v-rib, (Blue w/pink bat) | 117 | tbibler@bdel.com |
| Dave Bridges | Edel Sector v-rib, (Blue w/pink bat) | 7 | elizabeth.opitz@student.uni-ulm.de |
| Josh Cohn | Pro-Design Max, (purple) | 71 | Jbwutang@aol.com (website: http://www.linex.com/cityhall/josh/j.html) |
| Mary Anne Karren | Edel Saber (yellow) | 8 | airplaypg@msn.com |
| Othar Lawrence | Firebird Cult (white) | 354 | oj@carbondale.com |
| Lizzy Opitz | UP Escape (orange) | 355 | elizabeth.opitz@student.uni-ulm.de |
Paul Klemond is the Team Leader.
Chris Santacroce of Edel USA is working hard on fund-raising for the team.
The team shouts a huge THANK YOU to the following sponsors, who are providing gear and/or financial support:
| Aerolight USA / Apco Aviation Ltd.: phone (305)-639-3330, email: AeroUsa@shadow.net. | |
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Air America Paragliding: phone Joe Gluzinski at (909)-943-8664, email: AirAmPG@aol.com. |
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Atmosphere Paragliding School: phone Marcello de Barros at (714)-840-9201. |
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Ball Variometers: phone (303)-530-4940, email support@ballvarios.com, website: http://www.ballvarios.com. |
| Cascade Paragliding Club in Portland, Oregon | |
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Edel USA: phone (208)-726-1100, email edelusa@micron.net, website: http://www.edel.u-net.com/home.html. |
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Nocai Helmets and Woody Valley Harnesses: phone US distributor Lars Linde at (908)-747-7845, email: LarsLinde@compuserve.com. |
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Northwest Paragliding Club: in Seattle, Washington. Website: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/paraglider_nw/ |
| Parapente Aspen in Aspen, Colorado | |
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Pro-Design: phone John Yates at (916)-222-4606, email prodesig@snowcrest.net, website: http://members.ping.at/pro-d/. |
Get your Official 1997 US Paragliding Team t-shirt! Quality 100% cotton shirts with a cool design, yours for a $20 donation to the team.
Click here to check out the shirt design!
The following people have made a difference and supported the team:
[T-Shirt Designs] [Logistics] [Kurious Homepage]
© Copyright 1997 Paul Klemond