posted Sep 10th, 2003 - It was a terrible start into the new competition day for France. No doubt, the double-gold challenge is now in serious jeopardy. The 8-way team fell even further behind in round four this morning. A brainlock at the very end of the sequence caused an incomplete first Accordian of Block 14. Each of the five judges caught the infringement instantly. The working time ended right after the mistake. But the damage was already done. France is now seven points behind the leader in 8-way. It will be very difficult to make up for the lost ground. The competition with the defending world champion from Russia and the 1999 world champion and silver medalist of 2001, Arizona Airspeed, seems to be too strong and experienced.

Airspeed and Russia have finally broken their tie. Airspeed was a little bit faster and completed the 17th point a second before Russia was at the same point. Time was running out for team Evolution 8 before the Wagga could be completed. Airspeed now holds the first place by one point over Russia. Maybe former Airspeed member Jack Jefferies gave his team the edge they needed to take the lead. Jefferies arrived yesterday as a tourist and wants to support his team as much as he can. The first jump with Jefferies on competition site put Airspeed in first place. The spirits in the U.S. camp are on a high level. It is now up to the Russian team to make a move. The 8-way competition continues with round five. By the way: the 8-way canopy demo at the opening ceremony was performed by Airspeed, not by the French 8-way team as the NSL News had originally reported.