posted Oct 4th, 2016 - The completion of the Russian Nationals 2016 and the live coverage from Tanay in Siberia allows the Sun Path Products NSL News to go back to the FAI Mondial 2016, where the aftermath is far from being complete.

An earlier update from Skydive Chicago featured the 8-way competition videos of the Golden Knights through Round 6, and the missing four videos have not been added so far. The new video clip features all ten rounds of the old and new 8-way world champions.

It is once again a historic 8-way video, as the U.S. Army team finished with a 23.9 average, which is the highest 8-way performance level in the history of the sport. The Golden Knights had also owned the previous record average of 23.7 that they posted at the world meet in Prostejov 2014 and confirmed a year later at the USPA Nationals 2015.

FAI Mondial 2016			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		12,A,16	18,15,O	1,F,E,C	17,B,14	10,2,20	21,11,G	J,5,19	L,M,K,7	D,8,4	3,13,Q	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	31	25	26(-1)	22	20	22	19	26	24	24(-1)	239	23.9
2	France	FR	22(-1)	20(-1)	25	18	16	19	17	23	19	20	199	19.9
3	Tanay	RU	23	19	25	17	14(-1)	16	16	21	20	19	190	19.0
4	Qatar Falcons	QA	19	16	20	15	7(-2)	10(-4)	13	16(-1)	15	15	146	14.6
5	Microclim8	UK	15	14(-1)	16(-1)	14	11	13	13	14(-1)	13	17	140	14.0
6	Airbus München	DE	16	15	17	11	11	13	12	14	12	15	136	13.6
7	Australia	AU	13	13	14(-1)	12	9(-1)	13	12	15	10	14	125	12.5
8	Divergence	CA	11	10(-1)	9(-2)	11	8	10	8(-1)	10	11	11	99	9.9
9	Brazil	BR	11	8(-1)	10	9	5(-2)	9	9	11	8	13	93	9.3

The Golden Knights won their third consecutive 8-way gold medals at the Mondial 2016, and their dominance of the 8-way event seems to be overwhelming to all other 8-way teams in the world.

It was Round 10 at the Mondial 2012 in Dubai last time when the Golden Knights allowed another 8-way team to tie their score for a round, and the last lost one was Round 6 at the same event. It was the French 8-way team that was giving the Golden Knights at least a competition in 2012.

The Golden Knights have not lost or tied a round ever since the Mondial 2012. They finished 45 points ahead of Russia and France after ten rounds in Prostejov 2014 and 40 points ahead of France at the Mondial 2016. The French lineup this year was almost identical with the one at the Mondial 2012.

FAI World Meet 2014			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		E,3,C,5	F,G,D,21	19,H,2	M,4,1	O,14,A,P	8,J,16	7,11,12	22,20,15	17,G,18	13,B,9	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	24	22	15	26	22	21	19	26	21	20	216	21.6
2	Barkli	RU	19	18	13	25	14	16	16	19	18	13	171	17.1
3	Venturi	FR	19	16	14	23	18	13	18	19	15	16	171	17.1
4	Microclim8	UK	14	14	11	15	12	13	12	15	12	13	131	13.1
5	M8Trix	NL	15	13	11	17	11	13	13	15	10	12	130	13.0
6	Australia	AU	12	13	11	18	11	12	12	12	10	12	123	12.3
7	Dubai Asaar	AE	11	9	7	13	4	10	9	8	11	-	82	9.1
8	Maximum Ride	CA	10	9	6	11	8	8	8	7	7	-	74	8.2

It does not seem like the 8-way situation could change any time soon, and a new "Decade of Excellence" could follow the previous one (1987 - 1997) when the Golden Knights won six consecutive 8-way gold medals for the U.S. delegations.

There will be changes in the lineup, as Kurt Isenbarger and Jesse Stahler will not continue with the team next year. Kurt Isenbarger is stepping back after 18 years of world class competition with the Golden Knights and retires as a reigning 3-time world champion. Jesse Stahler is focusing primarily on his job with the VFS team of the Golden Knights.

However, there is little hope for any other 8-way teams that personnel changes might slow down the world champions. Videographer David Flynn is already well trained in 8-way competition before the camera, and former videographers Larry Miller and Drew Starr are the best examples for 8-way world champions coming from the camera slot...