47th WMC Parachuting - Summary News
DOHA (QAT) – The city of Doha welcomed the world’s military parachuting community with the opening of the 47th CISM World Military Parachuting Championship at Umm Al Shokhot Airfield. The event, which took place from 15 to 23 November 2025, was organised by the Qatar Air Sports Committee under the Joint Special Forces and held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs. The opening ceremony was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, together with the highest authorities of the Qatari Armed Forces and senior representatives of the International Military Sports Council. Delegations from thirty participating countries were present, marking the start of a major international gathering in the spirit of Friendship Through Sport.
This edition brought together three hundred and twenty male and female skydivers, with two hundred and thirty six athletes registered across twenty nine nations for the disciplines of Style, Accuracy Landing and Formation Skydiving. Teams began their training sessions immediately upon arrival, taking advantage of the excellent early weather conditions. The opening ceremony included an aerial display by the Qatar Canopy Formation Demonstration Team and reflected a level of organisation that confirmed Qatar’s ambition to host military sports events of the highest standard.
During the first days of competition, from 15 to 18 November, participants enjoyed ideal flying conditions that allowed multiple rounds in both Style and Accuracy Landing. Anticipating the arrival of the Shamal, a powerful north to south wind that regularly affects the Gulf region, organisers decided to advance the Accuracy programme. This decision proved decisive as several rounds were completed before the weather deteriorated. Accuracy Landing immediately demonstrated an exceptional level of skill. In the men’s event, Qatar’s Khalid Shajea and Germany’s Robin Griesheimer both reached a total of five centimetres after flawless landings, placing themselves in perfect equilibrium at the top of the standings. The women’s competition delivered the first medals of the championship, with China’s Miao Ying taking gold after a series of remarkably controlled approaches. France’s Leocadie Ollivier De Pury earned silver and China’s Li Jianhong completed the podium.
The junior categories confirmed the emergence of talented young parachuters capable of competing at senior level in the years to come. France’s Loïs Baal dominated Junior Female Accuracy, while in the Junior Male category, Austria’s Michael Urban, Germany’s Elias Kammer and Austria’s Joachim Knauss occupied the provisional podium with remarkable consistency.
Team Accuracy events also progressed strongly. China took a commanding lead in the women’s team event. Meanwhile, in the men’s team competition Qatar and the Czech Republic were tied on identical totals, underlining how balanced and competitive this edition had already become.
The Style competitions brought further emotion and a demonstration of very refined technical mastery. Germany dominated the men’s category with Robin Griesheimer and Elischa Weber holding the top two provisional positions, while Czech and French parachuters remained close behind. In the women’s Style event, France’s Leocadie Ollivier De Pury produced sequences of exceptional fluidity, placing herself ahead of China’s Yue Li and Germany’s Natalie Henzler. The junior Style categories were similarly intense, with Germany and Austria demonstrating great depth among young athletes.
Formation Skydiving also made strong progress before the Shamal arrived. Korea took a clear lead in the female category after six rounds, while Belgium emerged as a frontrunner in the male category thanks to disciplined formation builds and fast turns.
Beginning on 18 November, the Shamal reached Doha and forced all operations to stop. The strong winds and sand filled air created unsafe and unfair conditions. Visibility dropped significantly and turbulence made controlled landings impossible. For two consecutive days, 19 and 20 November, organisers were compelled to suspend all airborne activity. Nevertheless, the Style events were able to reach full completion thanks to the rounds completed earlier in the week. The results confirmed the excellent form of several athletes. Leocadie Ollivier De Pury won the women’s senior Style event ahead of China’s Yue Li and Germany’s Natalie Henzler.
In the junior female event, Germany celebrated a double success with gold for Natalie Henzler and silver for Zoe Stoll followed by France’s Loïs Baal. In the men’s Style event, Germany continued to excel with Robin Griesheimer taking the gold medal narrowly ahead of Elischa Weber, while Oldřich Šorf of Czechia secured bronze. In Junior Style, Germany’s Elias Kammer won gold and was followed by Austria’s Michael Urban and Germany’s Magnus Ostler.
The Shamal remained active until the morning of 22 November, when a brief window of calm allowed the final round of Formation Skydiving to be completed. Shortly afterwards, gusts exceeded eleven metres per second and the wind returned with force, making any further Accuracy Landing impossible. As a result, several podium positions were confirmed exactly as the standings stood and a number of medals were shared.
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The men’s Individual Accuracy Landing produced one of the most dramatic stories of the championship. Qatar’s Khalid Shajea and Germany’s Robin Griesheimer both ended with five centimetres and jointly received the world title. The bronze medal was shared by Qatar’s Mohammed Al Marri and Slovenia’s Matej Bečan, who finished level. The FAI tie breaking system placed Czech athlete Miloslav Kříž in fifth position despite an identical total, highlighting the extraordinary precision required at this level.
In the junior men’s Accuracy Landing, Austria’s Michael Urban won the world title with eight centimetres, ahead of Germany’s Elias Kammer with ten and Austria’s Joachim Knauss with twelve. Urban also won the Junior Overall title and expressed pride in succeeding despite the challenging weather conditions.
The combined overall standings confirmed the dominance of several athletes across Style and Accuracy Landing. In the men’s category, Germany’s Robin Griesheimer secured the world title with two points, followed by Czech athletes Oldřich Šorf and Petr Chládek. In the junior category, Urban and Kammer finished level, with Urban taking the title thanks to his better Accuracy result.
Formation Skydiving delivered exciting conclusions. Korea won the female category, followed by Morocco and Brazil. Belgium won the men’s title with a strong performance across all rounds, ahead of Germany and Türkiye.
Team Accuracy results added more emotion to the final day. China took the women’s title ahead of France and Korea. In the men’s event, Qatar won a celebrated home victory after finishing level with the Czech Republic. The title was awarded to Qatar due to a single centimetre advantage in the fifth round, a detail that emphasised how close this championship had been from start to finish. Switzerland finished third.
The final team overall standings confirmed Korea as the women’s world champion ahead of China and France. Germany won the men’s overall title thanks to consistent high level performances across all disciplines, followed by Czech Republic and Austria.
The championship closed with a ceremony attended by all delegations, judges and officials. CISM President Colonel Nilton Gomes Rolim Filho praised the courage, professionalism and discipline shown by the athletes and expressed sincere gratitude to the Qatar Air Sports Committee and the Qatari Armed Forces for their exceptional work and hospitality. Alberto Martin Paracuellos, President of the FAI Skydiving Commission, commended the cooperation between CISM and FAI and highlighted the quality of the event.
The 47th CISM World Military Parachuting Championship concluded as a remarkable edition marked by outstanding technical standards, shared titles, world class performances and the resilience of athletes facing demanding meteorological conditions. The next edition will take place in Lucenec, Slovakia, in August 2026.
Full results and live updates remain available at: https://results.worldskydiving.org/competitions/results/782
 | Doha welcomes the world for the 47th CISM World Military Parachuting Championship |
 | Skydivers push to the limit as weather closes in on the 47th WMC Parachuting in Doha |
 | Style champions crowned as Shamal forces another day of standby at the 47th WMC Parachuting |
 | Final jumps decide World Titles on the last day of the 47th WMC Parachuting |
(Source: CISM Media & Communication Department - Pictures: Carsten Thiel)
