posted Apr 16th, 2024 - Block 10 of the AAA Class dive pool (Diamond - Bunyip) was supposed to be the main topic of the NSL Live Talk conversation with Arizona Airspeed's Niklas Hemlin on April 11th. However, he also provided a review of the Shamrock Showdown 2024 and a preview of the upcoming FAI Indoor World Cup 2024 in China.

There was another unexpected part of the conversation that many Airspeed fans and the general audience must have detected, as well. Seven minutes into the recorded video from China Niklas Hemlin casually remarked that the 2024 season will be the last one for himself and for his team mate of nine consecutive years, Mikhail Markine.

He said that it is no secret at this point in time that the lineup of the last five years will change. Only Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann, the two youngest and latest Airspeed members, will continue and recruit two new team mates. The upcoming change is not confidential information any longer in the closest Airspeed environment and has turned into public knowledge.

The March visit of Arizona Airspeed at the Shamrock Showdown 2024 was the last one for Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine as active 4-way competitors, and the upcoming ten rounds in China conclude their indoor competition career. The current Airspeed lineup will still continue with outdoor training and competition this year, before Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann start with a new lineup after the 26th FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships 2024.

Arizona Airspeed team rosters since 1995

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Most likely, Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine will bring their active 4-way careers to the perfect ending, first with the next indoor world championship title, followed by FAI gold medals at the outdoor event in October. Niklas Hemlin will be one 4-way gold medal ahead of Mikhail Markine, as he was in the Airspeed lineup who won by one point over NMP PCH HayaBusa in Dubai 2012.

Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine joined forces when Thiago Gomes, Thomas Hughes and Niklas Hemlin replaced inside center Chris Farina at the end of the 2015 season. Mikhail Markine had been in the tail slot for SDC Rhythm XP for three years when Airspeed asked him to continue with them.

Mikhail Markine yet started in Airspeed's point slot in 2016, as previous point Niklas Hemlin switched to Chris Farina's inside center position for the new lineup. Thiago Gomes continued in the tail slot that he took in 2015.

The slot scramble continued when Thomas Hughes left the team after his six years as Airspeed's outside center. Ari Perelman became the new Airspeed member in the point slot. Mikhail Markine switched to tail, Niklas Hemlin to outside center, Thiago Gomes to inside center. Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine were finally in the slots that they would maintain until today, even though there was still one change of the lineup to come.

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NSL Live Talk with Arizona Airspeed's Niklas Hemlin

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There was still the lowest point of their Airspeed career ahead of them before the current lineup won back the world's 4-way top spot. Together they missed the FAI Tanay Mondial, after they lost to SDC Rhythm XP at the USPA Nationals 2019. Tanay 2021 was the first outdoor world championship since 2006 where Arizona Airspeed did not represent the United States in 4-way Open.

The lowest point in Niklas Hemlin's and Mikhail Markine's shared Airspeed history was quickly replaced with one of the most successful time periods. They have won all indoor and outdoor world championship titles since they joined forces with Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann in 2020 and competed for the U.S. delegation since 2022.

Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann have not lost a 4-way indoor or outdoor competition after their first meet with the new Airspeed lineup at the Wind Games 2020. Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine integrated their new team mates perfectly and took the world's top spot back from NMP PCH HayaBusa at the 25th FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships 2022. It took Niklas Hemlin exactly a decade to win his next world championship title after his first one in Dubai 2012. He will have collected three FAI outdoor world championship gold medals, Mikhail Markine two, at the end of this year. Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann will try to maintain the top spot in the United States and in the world with the next Airspeed generation.