Gregory Knudsen reports from Kenya, where he has broken the 100km Out-and-Return World Record: I\u2019ve just come back from 12 days of camping in the Kerio Valley where,\u00a0after much\u00a0required patience and no little consternation, and following\u00a0several failed attempts,\u00a0the weather finally\u00a0improved enough\u00a0to provide a window of opportunity for me\u00a0to take a crack at the FAI world record.\u00a0 On January 19 I began my official flight at 08:24:00.\u00a0 Two hours, twenty-one minutes,\u00a0forty-three seconds later, I completed the task and broke the current world paragliding\u00a0record.\u00a0 Flying almost constantly at 70% bar, trying to punch through powerful thermals as fast as possible\u00a0and not climb while\u00a0remaining relatively close to the rim of the escarpment, was easily one of the more\u00a0demanding and\u00a0intense experiences I have ever encountered.\u00a0 Hours after I\u2019d landed, I became conscious that the muscles in my neck and shoulders had still not fully\u00a0decompressed. The following is the official Press Release from the Luxembourg NAC:<\/p>\n
The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration A\u00e9ronautique Luxembourgeiose (FAL) wishes to make known that on January 19, 2013, flying an Ozone R11 along the Elgeyo escarpment in Kenya\u2019s Rift Valley province, Gregory Knudson, team leader and competition pilot for the Luxembourg national paragliding team, set a new world record for a speed over and out-and-return course of 100 km by flying an average speed of 42.34 km\/h (beating the former world record of 40.20 km\/h set in January, 2011, by Germany\u2019s Thomas Schweers).\u00a0 The FAL has officially validated this claim and submitted it to the FAI in Lausanne, Switzerland for ratification.\u00a0 We wish to congratulate Mr. Knudson on his success.<\/p>\n