posted Aug 18th, 2008 - The NSL News mentioned on the last day of World Meet 2008 live coverage from Maubeuge that an interview with Airspeed Odyssey would be uploaded later. This interview took place shortly after the judging of Round 8 was completed and the final scores were posted.

The video of the live interview is now available and can be viewed by clicking here. It shows all five Airspeed members in a happy and relaxed state of mind after a nerve wrecking final round.

The US team had a 4-point lead going into the last round, which eventually melted down to a 1-point victory over France Maubeuge. The French team had posted the highscore with an 18-pointer before Airspeed's jump was shown on the iScore DZ-TV screen.

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It became interesting when Airspeed's 17 points in working time turned into a 16-pointer after the first viewing. It became dramatic when the judges deducted another point, and the US team had only one point left. However, there was no further damage, the 15-pointer was confirmed, and Airspeed Odyssey was the new 4-way world champion.

Eliana Rodriguez Craig Girard, Mark Kirkby, Andy Delk and Steve Novak said that they were still not overly concerned after realizing that there were a few critical spots in Round 8. They did not think that they could really lose a 4-point lead - and they did not, eventually.

They did not even think that the critical spots would really cause point deductions. Craig Girard remembered that one of the first Bipoles had a questionable grip. However, he thought that Eliana Rodriguez had "sold it" to the judges. The judges caught the flaw as an infringement.

Andy Delk's recovery after a shaky exit was a crucial part of Airspeed's Round 8 and saving the 4-point lead over the finish line. He had a funny comment for this situation where he "lost an argument with the relative wind".

The thin and very exciting 1-point victory brought him his first gold medal at a World Championship of Formation Skydiving. He was the only Airspeed member so far without a world championship title. Airspeed videographer Steve Novak had already won a gold medal in 8-way at the World Meet 1999 in Australia.

Craig Girard with his 7th gold medal has now become the most successful Formation Skydiving competitor in the history of the sport. He has five gold medals in 8-way and two in 4-way. The NSL News is still working on his profile...

The most successful 4-way competitor in history must now be Airspeed's tail, Mark Kirkby. The 4-way gold medal in Maubeuge was his fourth one. He has also a title in 8-way from 1999. He won his 4-way gold medals in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2008.

Eliana Rodriguez has become the first female Formation Skydiving competitor who has won gold medals in each of the three different categories. She won the first World Meet medals in Spain 1999 with Synchronicity. She joined the Airspeed 8-way lineup a few years later and won the first Open Class gold medal in Croatia 2004.

Her 4-way career with Airspeed Odyssey began in 2005. Brian Johnson was in the original lineup who was replaced by Mark Kirkby in 2007. The new Airspeed 4-way lineup won the USPA Nationals 2007, which qualified the team for the World Meet 2008. The 4-way gold medal in Maubeuge has successfully completed Eliana Rodriguez' unique quest for allround excellence.

The NSL News interview finishes with a very important question and answer for many other teams. What are the Airspeed plans for the future? There was no hesitation with the answer: USPA Nationals 2008, then World Games 2009 in Italy. Airspeed Odyssey is not done yet...