SINGAPORE – Singapore’s indoor skydivers put up a stellar performance to claim two golds, one silver and one bronze at the April 19-22 FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships in Slovakia.
Kyra Poh, 21, trumped 19 other competitors at Hurricane Factory Tatralandia to win the solo freestyle open category, which featured both male and female athletes.
Poh, who finished with a five-round total of 73.2 points, pipped Poland’s Maja Kuczynska by 0.7 of a point, while Latvia’s Toms Ivans was third on 70.5.
Poh said: “I’m very happy. The last month towards the world championships was a huge struggle mentally and physically. With the great stress and pressure, there were some very dark and low moments where I wanted to give up.
“Juggling university and two categories simultaneously was definitely hard as I trained every day after classes that started from 9am-5pm and trained from 6-11pm usually.
“I’m glad I pushed myself till the end and kept a strong mental (state) for the competition! I am proud of myself.”
The podium was a repeat of 2022’s FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving results.
Poh said: “They are definitely very strong competitors and made sure there was no room for error. I think my consistency and presentation with the music made me triumph above (them).
“Maja and I both represent Red Bull so it is very nice to have placed first and second. I really respect and look up to Toms Ivans for a long time already and he is a close friend. Seeing him fly always puts a smile on my face and I’m happy to have a tight competition with him always. We all push each other.”
This is Poh’s first gold in this competition. In the last edition in 2019, she narrowly missed out on the title in the same event after losing a jump-off round to Germany’s Rafael Schwaiger.
About 2019’s results, Poh added: “I was only 16 years old and being second in the open category was something really big for me already but to get the title this year at 20 shows the many years of dedication and consistency.”
In the dynamic two-way junior category, the Republic’s Kai Minejima Lee and Vera Poh, both 13, teamed up to win gold on their tournament debut. They defeated the United States in the final after topping the charts in the qualifier round that featured five pairs.
Kai also clinched silver in the solo freestyle junior category after finishing 0.9 point behind Hungary’s Mate Feith, who scored 67.9.
In the other events, Choo Yixuan, Poh and Jordan Lee combined with Czech competitor Tobias Chaloupka for bronze in the dynamic four-way open category after beating France in the third-place play-off.
Lee then teamed up with Chaloupka to finish sixth in the dynamic two-way category.
Poh added: “I am grateful to have a pillar of support from the Singapore flying family, (Choo) Yi Xuan, my parents and close friends. They made me believe in myself and helped me a lot this time.”
