A ST JOHN’S woman has fulfilled an ambition to compete in a renowned paragliding accuracy competition in Albania.

Myrianthe Ewington, who in a remarkable first 18 months in the sport has represented the UK in European and World Paragliding Accuracy Championships, finished third in the Golden Lady event staged in Gjirokaster, about a three-hour drive from the country’s capital, Tirana.

Paragliding accuracy involves landing on a target, with the score measured by the number of centimetres a competitor lands away from its the centre.

Such is Myrianthe’s growing expertise in the sport, she recorded a personal best for the level of competition of just 9cm away in one round.

“With the end of the year almost here I was keen to get one more competition in,” Myrianthe said. “I’d heard so much about the Albanian accuracy competitions, the show they put on, I really wanted to try and experience it all.

“I saw this one on Facebook, so after checking how much holiday I had left, the flights, visa requirements and so on, I worked out I could take the Thursday and Friday off work and get a very early flight back on Monday morning.

“It does raise an eyebrow or two when colleagues ask if you’re doing anything nice on your days off and you tell them you’re flying to Albania for the weekend for a paragliding competition.

“I spent a couple of days trying to dodge the nasty bugs the kids had brought home from school and by 7am Thursday I was at Luton airport ready to fly to Tirana.”

Gjirokaster, “The City of Stone” and variously described by visitors as “a gem” and “a fairytale town”, made an impression on Myrianthe too.

“As the sun broke over the mountains we saw just how stunning the location was,” she said. “It’s surrounded on two sides by the beautiful mountains, and the views are breathtaking.

“My scores certainly weren’t anywhere near the top, but to have only been training in paragliding accuracy for about 18 months and achieve third place in the Golden Lady is entirely down to amazing coaching from UK Paragliding Accuracy chief coach, Andy Shaw.

“In the closing ceremony – the event attracted 44 competitors from 8 countries – national anthems were played and standing on stage singing “God save our gracious King” for the first time was an emotional moment.

“Then it was a dash to the airport for a 4am check-in for the 6am flight home.

“I can’t wait for the 2023 season!”