Skip to content
Aviation, Sport Recreation

Australian James Nugent is the new World Gliding Champion

Gliding Australia 3 mins read
The Australian Gliding Team on the Podium at the World Gliding Championships Narromine NSW

James Nugent from country Victoria beat the best glider pilots in the world from 21 nations to win the first World Gliding Championship title for Australia since 1991.

James, 25 years old, is also one of the youngest pilots to ever win a senior World Gliding Championship. After a marathon 11 racing days across the Central West of New South Wales, James secured his World Gliding Championship in Club Class, defeating the previous champion from Germany and numerous other previous winners.

Silver Medal for Australian Greg Beecroft

Greg Beecroft from Western Australia won the Silver Medal in Standard Class.

In a stunning result Greg Beecroft, in his first international contest, defeated the previous champion, also from Germany, to take the Silver Medal in Standard Class.

Australian Team Takes 3rd Place

Australia fielded six pilots in three classes of racing. The aggregate scores of all the pilots competing in 11 days of glider racing produced a total score for each country. In the best result ever for Australia, the team took 3rd place on the Team Podium behind Germany and Poland.

Australian Team Captain, Miles Gore-Brown, said, ‘This is an amazing result for Australia, showing the world that we are capable of competing at the highest level of the sport with James Nugent as the new World Champion showing that gliding in Australia has a great future in the hands of our young up and coming pilots.”

Australian Gliding Team

James Nugent, Victoria, Gold Medal, World Gliding Champion in Club Class

Daniel Summers, Victoria, 11th place in Club Class

Greg Beecroft, WA, Silver Medal in Standard Class

Bruce Taylor, NSW, 18th in Standard Class

Adam Woolley, Queensland, 7th in 15m Class

Tobi Geiger, Victoria, 10th in 15m Class

Miles Gore-Brown, Manager

Peter Temple, Coach

ABOUT

The 37th FAI World Gliding Championships was held in Narromine, New South Wales, 2 - 16 December 2023. Eighty competitors from 21 nations competed in the greatest gliding event in the world.

The competition saw 80 high performance gliders racing over central NSW for periods of up to 7 hours, covering distances up to 600km. The winners of each race accumulated points. The pilots with the highest point score at the end of the competition were declared World Champions in three classes of racing.

Narromine

With the support of Destination New South Wales, Narromine hosted hundreds of pilots and their crews in a major boost to the local and regional economy. After several years of preparation for this prestigious event, the people of Narrominshire and hosts at Narromine Gliding Club staged a superbly organised, safe and friendly championships.

Gliding Australia

This event was supported by Gliding Australia, the peak sporting body, under the auspices of the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) which is the worldwide body for sport aviation.

Gliding The sport of gliding is an exhilarating, spectacular and serene flying experience. Gliders take to the air like birds with wings outstretched, soaring on rising air currents, immersed in three dimensional space and flying silently with an eagle’s view of the world.

Men and women of all ages can learn to fly gliders. In Australia you can fly solo from the age of 15 and some pilots continue gliding into their eighties. It is never too late to learn to glide and many pilots take up the sport in their 40s, 50s or even 70s.

The modern glider is a sophisticated, highly aerodynamic aircraft without an engine, designed to travel at speeds approaching 300 kph and capable of heights in excess of 20,000 feet.

CONTACT

Sean Young

Email: sean@glidingaustralia.org

Mob: 0490 502 323

for more information and high-resolution photographs, media access and interviews.


Key Facts:

Australian James Nugent is the new World Gliding Champion

Australian James Nugent is the new World Gliding Champion

Australian Team Takes 3rd Place at the World Gliding Championships Narromine NSW


Contact details:

Sean Young

Email: sean@glidingaustralia.org

Mob: 0490 502 323

for more information and high-resolution photographs, media access and interviews.

 

Media

More from this category

  • Sport Recreation
  • 27/07/2024
  • 04:11
Toonsutra, Inc.

Funimation Founder, Gen Fukunaga, Joins as Investor and Advisor to Toonsutra, India’s #1 Webtoon App

Fukunaga, an Anime Industry Legend, Previously Built the World's Leading Anime Platform Through Funimation Which Later Acquired Crunchyroll. The Global Webtoon Market is Expected to Grow to $60 Billion by 2030MUMBAI, INDIA / ACCESSWIRE / July 26, 2024 / Toonsutra, India's homegrown webtoon comic app, announced today that industry legend Gen Fukunaga has joined the Company as an investor and Advisory Board member.Toonsutra App Fukunaga brings decades of experience in anime, pop culture and streaming platforms, having previously founded Funimation, which was sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment and acquired Crunchyroll to become the world's leading anime digital platform and one…

  • Political, Sport Recreation
  • 26/07/2024
  • 14:23
La Trobe University

EXPERT ALERT – 2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES

LaTrobe University has academic experts available to talk to the media on a range of topics related to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Dr Geoff DicksonDirector, Centre for Sport and Social Impact, Australia Contact: g.dickson@latrobe.edu.au or 0475 776 029 Expertise: Dr Dickson is a sport management academic, specialising in sport governance, sport marketing, and sport integrity. Dr Dickson can discuss the following topics: Politics and geopolitics of the Olympics Sport scandals and controversies Future of the Olympics and mega-events International Olympic Committee – image, reputation and integrity Brisbane 2032 Commercialisation, sponsorship and ambush marketing Athlete activism Medal trends analysis Performance…

  • Community, Sport Recreation
  • 26/07/2024
  • 12:55
City of Sydney

Perry Park reborn as Sydney’s newest sports hub

An inner-city park’s renewal as a sports destination is now complete with a new multi-purpose synthetic pitch supporting the growing need for more outdoor…

  • Contains:

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.