With a world title, his trophy cabinet is already more than well filled, but entering the Open Dutch Championship above home soil is perhaps just as special. “This was a home game for me. So I am very happy with this,” beams winner Roy Gommer (30) after winning the gold medal.
Italy, France, Luxembourg, Lithuania: just a few balloonists from these countries traveled to Witteveen this weekend to take a shot at the championship. Gommer flew the rest home within lap distance of his home ground in Dalen.
“It was a challenging week”, he summarizes the somewhat hectic tournament course. The sailing had to start on Thursday and, after seven balloon flights, was to be concluded on Sunday evening with the final flight. But the north wind, unfavorable to the balloon pilots, played tricks on them three times. Four of the seven flight options went through.
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