A ST JOHN’S woman will tackle the Paragliding Accuracy World Championships in Bulgaria in peak form.

Myrianthe Ewington took second position in the hotly-contested Golden Lady event in Gjirokastra, Albania, recently, one place higher than she achieved in last year’s competition.

“Preparation this summer has been particularly tricky,” said Myrianthe.  “With the days shortening and reducing the options further after work, the opportunity of competing in Albania seemed too good to miss for myself and Green Dragons Airsports’ Andy Shaw, who has done so much to coach me to this standard.

“The event brought together a number of the top paragliding accuracy pilots from China, Albania, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria among others who all had the same idea, to sharpen their preparation in the run-up to the World Championships.

“Gjirokastra, with its picturesque mountains and favourable wind conditions, was an ideal setting for the competition. As it progressed, though, the conditions proved trickier than anything Andy and I had been used to while training in the UK, including light and variable winds,

“It became quite a test, not just of paragliding skills but of mental strength and adaptability.

“I was at the bottom of the leaderboard but towards the end of the first day the winds picked up and began to feel more like conditions we had trained in.

“The next day was a different story and by round seven I was in second place in the female category. I knew what I needed to score to guarantee my silver medal – less than 109cm from the target. 

“The nerves did start to build as I went up on tow. I took a moment to compose myself and check on the windsocks and streamers as the wind had been all over the place for the last few pilots.

“I was taking deep breaths, telling myself ‘You got this’, setting up for a final approach in the light winds.

“I just kept my focus on getting my feet to the target, but I didn’t know if it was less than 109.

“When the judges annnounced the score, ‘Pilot 9, Result 100,’ what a feeling, I’d done it.”

Although Andy made steady progress up the leaderboard in his category, he had to settle for 21st place overall.

“What made this journey truly special is the camaraderie among fellow competitors,” said Myrianthe. “Paragliding is not just about individual performance but also about sharing experiences and learning from one another.”

The Paragliding Accuracy World Championships begin today (Friday, October 20) in Sopot, Bulgaria, and run until October 28.