posted Jun 21st, 2019 - We thought that it could never happen again. Will somebody prove us wrong... ?

There is only one Formation Skydiving competitor who has ever won two gold medals at the same world championship. The hard-core NSL News audience knows who I am talking about: Mathieu Bernier. He was on the French national 4-way and 8-way teams in Menzelinsk 2010, where both teams won gold medals.

It had never happened before and it was not supposed to happen, as we thought both events were on such high levels that it would be a Mission Impossible. It wasn't for Mathieu Bernier and his support group on both teams.

Next year it will be a whole decade later and it seems even more impossible to try this again. The performance level has risen significantly and the teams train and compete in more professional ways. Well, French(wo)men simply don't believe that something could be impossible, as the idea is once again coming from France.

TURNING POINTS - Next French Mission Impossible

This time, it is not only to prove that there is no Mission Impossible, as it was the case in 2010 when France still had separate teams in all Formation Skydiving events. In fact, it was a complete FS sweep the French delegation accomplished in Russia: gold medals in 4-way Open, 4-way Women, 4-way VFS and 8-way.

There is a practical reason too, this time. The French Formation Skydiving delegation is under pressure heading into the time period of preparations for the next world meet in Tanay 2020. It is financial pressure, as the French federation does not have the same resources available that it had in 2010 and earlier. There was not even an 8-way team from France at the last world meet in Australia 2018 for the first time in history.

However, the current French national coach had an idea. And guess who it is... Yes, Mathieu Bernier, the only 4-way/8-way double-gold medalist in history, who has been in charge of the French Formation Skydiving delegation since Jeremie Rollett became a coach for Qatar's teams, Tigers in 4-way and then Falcons in 8-way.

I don't know if Mathieu Bernier became creative due to the financial situation in France or if he decided to launch another Mission Impossible. Maybe it's both. Fact is that France will try to win gold medals in 4- and 8-way again next year in Russia and one complete half of the 8-way lineup will be on double duties in Tanay.

---

FAI outdoor World Meet 2010			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		10,7,12	3,11,5	J,M,Q,P,L	19,1,13	N,18,20	K,17,8	2,15,H	4,D,6	O,E,9,G	22,B,16	Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Aerokart	FR	21	22	56	20	22	24	22	24	40	26	277	27.7
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	22	21	53	23	20	24	23	25	40	23	274	27.4
3	Sky Panthers Barkli	RU	19	21	56	21	19	21	23	22	41	21	264	26.4
4	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	21	21	55	20	17	20	23	22	36	18	253	25.3
5	Evolution	CA	19	19	51	20	18	22	21	21	31	18	240	24.0
6	Sinapsi	IT	19	19	49	16	20	17	21	19	37	19	236	23.6

---

There is a difference this time. It is not the 4-way Open Class team trying to win gold medals for France in 4- and 8-way. Mathieu Bernier is sending the 4-way Women world champions on the new Mission Impossible. He surely is not that far off with his strategy, even though I still believe that it just cannot be done, especially a decade after the first time it ever happened.

He has a VERY strong team in 4-way Women, who have a VERY good chance to defend the world championship title successfully, even after a change of the lineup. Christine Malnis and Sophia Pecout are now two of the most experienced 4-way competitors in the world, male or female. Both together won 4-way Women gold medals in Prostejov 2014 and silver in Chicago 2016, then gold again last year in Australia.

They also trained and competed in 4-way Open with the Weembi High Rollers (Julien Degen, Roy Janssen), the only team that has defeated indoor and outdoor world champions NMP PCH HayaBusa in the past years. They have Clementine Le Bohec, world champion team mate of 2018, and new member Gaelle Giesen in their 2019/2020 lineup, and it seems to require a miracle for another team to win in 4-way Women next year.

That's supposed to be the first set of French gold medals, this time for a complete 4-way team, not only for a single competitor with double duties, as Mathieu Bernier was in 2010.

---

FAI Outdoor World Meet 2010			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		3,21,N	6,20,9	E,G,17,5	K,16,2	12,C,22	B,D,M,1	7,15,J	13,L,P,11	4,18,O	10,14,19	Total	Avg
1	France	FR	25	19	16	21	22	25	18	19	23	15	203	20.3
2	Golden Knights	US	23	17	18	20	22	27	20	17	21	11	196	19.6
3	Barkli	RU	20	19	16	17	22	20	18	19	20	14	185	18.5
4	Norway	NO	8	5	6	7	7	7	8	9	10	5	72	7.2
5	Kazakhstan	KZ	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	4	0.4

---

Mathieu Bernier has done his numbers. He knows that the 4-way Women team does not need much training and still go to Russia as the top favorite. He plans to invest heavily into the new 8-way lineup, who have to bring back to France the second set of gold medals. He confirms that both 4-way teams will focus on 8-way training and competition, while he has given up the idea of possibly getting to the top in 4-way Open. NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed are way too far ahead at outdoor competition to have a chance.

On the other hand, the new 4-way Open Class lineup, the other half of the new French 8-way team (Kevin Mansion, Damien Gouriou, Aurelien Lemaire, Alban Rumolo), have already shown their talent and what they are capable of in 8-way. They kept up very well with the new U.S. 8-way team, Paraclete XP8, at the indoor world championship in April, where they won three rounds and stole the world record from the Golden Knights and XP8 in Round 6 with a 44-pointer.

Mathieu Bernier got his first confirmation of the potential for his new Mission Impossible at the indoor world meet with the performance of his 8-way lineup, and the complete new team has not even started training yet.

Christine Malnis and Sophia Pecout were still busy giving NMP PCH HayaBusa a hard time at the same event and defeated Arizona Airspeed with the High Rollers. Clementine Le Bohec player-coached the Nephtys Weembi team to the French indoor gold medals in 4-way Women, while Gaelle Giesen already jumped into the 8-way waters together with the four boys.

French 8-way outdoor lineup: Michel Laynaud - Clementine Le Bohec - Damien Gouriou - Christine Malnis - Kevin Mansion - Gaelle Giesen - Aurelien Lemaire - Sophia Pecout - Alban Rumolo

4-way Women indoor and outdoor world champion Pamela Lissajoux, Martial Ferre and Charles Rommel will step back and make 8-way room for Clementine Le Bohec, Christine Malnis and Sophia Pecout, and they will surely not weaken the upcoming French 8-way performance with the new outdoor lineup.

I can easily follow Mathieu Bernier's logic and strategy, and he has a chance. It would be a new and younger first time though. No 4-way Women competitor has ever won two gold medals at the same event. Eliana Rodriguez has won three gold medals in three different events (4-way Women, 8-way, 4-way Open) at three different world meets (2001 - 2004 - 2008). Double gold at the same event would be new. This time, it would even be a complete lineup with two sets of FAI gold medals.

OK, good luck, Mathieu. I think it is brave, creative and it has a chance. However, I still think that it is a Mission Impossible. Especially in 8-way, there are three teams who will do everything to interfere with the French plan. Paraclete XP8/Golden Knights, Russia's home team from Tanay and Qatar Falcons will probably create a similar situation as in 4-way, where HayaBusa and Airspeed are in the way to gold medals for any other teams. The new French 8-way has a much better starting point and will surely be closer to the top spot than any French 4-way Open Class team. But double gold with double duties...?

It's still a Mission Impossible, 10 years later...