| ...coming up this weekend September 2-3 at
Stockholm Parachute Club. By Ken Hansen, August 30.
Who will win the first
Nordic Freeflying Championships?
Now, that's hard to say
up front, but an educated guess would put two teams as favourites.
One is "Trio
Ludens" with Dag Jorgensen, Richard Henriksen and Endre Jakobsen.
The other team is
"Big Brothers" with Ola Jameson, John Loken and Hasse Berggren.
I talked with Loken the
other day and his ambition is clear.
-I want to win that meet,
he said.
But he, Ola and Hasse
will have to beat Trio Ludens, and perhaps a few other very skilled freefly teams?
SOME HISTORY
Several years ago Loken and Jameson began freeflying together.
Then Adrian Nicholas
coached at a freeflying camp at Gryttjom, Sweden, and was very impressed not only with the
way Loken and Jameson did their stuff, but also with OJ Askvik, a new-comer who just
happened to be at the DZ.
Some circumstances later
Adrian teamed up with Loken and Askvik to train hard, but a few hundred jumps later Askvik
was forced back to his jobcareer in the army and their dream as a team was shattered.
Loken went on to coach at
DeLand and Sebastian, two DZ's in Florida.
Later, Richard Henriksen
hired Loken as his private coach at DeLand.
Henriksen was one of
Norways top gymnasts a few years ago, and the first time I met him, when he was still a
novice to skydiving, his ambitions was as clear as Lokens.
-I want to be a world
champion, he said.
Back then he was talking
about freestyle, but with the coming of freeflying I still believe Henriksen has his eyes
set on high goals in skydiving, be it that the focus may have changed slightly when it
comes to the discipline.
Loken and Henriksen made
several hundred jumps together at DeLand.
Then Henriksen went back
to Norway and later started freeflying with Dag Jorgensen and Endre Jakobsen and they
formed TRIO LUDENS.
Loken kept on returning
to his favourite scandinavian DZ at Grytjom, Sweden and continuos freeflying with Ola
Jameson.
NOW, HERE
Trio Ludens has been practicing hard this summer.
They won the freeflying
competition at the annual extremesportsweek in Norway and will also compete at the first
World Cup of Freeflying at Eloy, AZ (USA) later this year.
Loken won the
extremsportsweek event last year, with OJ Askvik, but did not attend this year.
Now the time has come for
the first face off between friends and competitors.
The circle, it seems, has
taken a full loop.
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