Wingsuit Flying World Championship kicks off at Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain

Sixteen elite wingsuit flyers from nine countries have competed in the 11th WWL Wingsuit Flying World Championship at Zhangjiajie's Tianmen Mountain in Hunan province. The two-day event, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, marked another chapter in the mountain's long association with the sport.

On the opening day, athletes leapt individually from Yuhu Peak at an altitude of 1,458 meters, tackling the "Big Loop Speed Race", a 1.3-kilometer straight-line course through the air. Each competitor completed two solo flights, with their best time used for ranking. Australia's defending champion Tahi-Paul Munroe led the field with a dominant 24.077-second run.

The second day saw the "Precision Target" preliminaries. Flyers again launched from Yuhu Peak, following a designated route through the airspace in front of Tianmen Cave before diving at more than 200 km/h toward a circular target suspended just 15 meters above the ground. The outer ring measured 0.8m in diameter and the bullseye only 0.1m, roughly the size of a mobile phone.

South Africa's Jean Jacques Wallis, who had placed fourth in the speed race, delivered the standout performance, hitting high-scoring zones on both flights for a perfect 90+90 score to top the leaderboard and bolster his bid for a double crown.

According to organizers, the championship will continue with the quarterfinals and finals later in the week.

Tianmen Mountain hosted the first WWL Wingsuit Flying World Championship in 2012 and has since staged 10 editions, drawing hundreds of millions of online viewers to watch athletes push the limits of human flight.