Female medical pros seeking to soar higher than males
FRENCH DUO’S STATED AIM IS TO BEAT THE BOYS — EVERY TIME
French women Charline Delay and Cindy Collot are both medical professionals who have challenged the male bastion and become world champions at the 2015 FAI World Air Games (WAG).
At the end of eight jumps of the two-way sequential canopy formation parachuting event, Delay and Collot were at the top of the standings with 187 points, leaving Russia to the silver on 163 points and Sweden in third for the bronze medal with 147 points.
Delay and Collot are a rare pair. Delay is a cardio-vascular surgeon employed in Strasbourg, while her teammate Collot is a nurse in her native Besancon, some 400km from the French capital of Paris. They came into contact with each other some 10 years, and since then have embarked on a rather rare mission, that of beating the men at their own game.
“Our goal is to compete against the men and defeat them. And this is our aim each and every time. This is what we want every time we go up there and jump,” Delay told Gulf News on the penultimate day of the competition on Friday.
Overcoming hardships
“We are very clear in what we need to do at each competition. In the past 10 years we have been through a lot of trials and hardships, simply because we have strayed into a sport that is predominantly played by men. But we will not give up. We have more than 2,500 jumps together as a pair, and each and every time it is with just one aim in mind, and that is to win against the men,” Delay added.
Both started jumping more than 10 years back. Since then, the pair have bagged at least three major honours in their sport: the world championship in Bosnia last year and the Mondial Champions held in Dubai in 2012. “I think this is just the start for us as we have no intention of stopping our passion for parachuting. And the better thing is that we both treat our sport and our profession in the medical field on equal terms,” Collot said.
“I doubt there is going to be any change in our philosophy and thinking.”
I think this is just the start for us as we have no intention of stopping our passion for parachuting. And the better thing is that we both treat our sport and our profession in the medical field on equal terms.”
Cindy Collot
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French parachutist
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights from the US broke their own record in the 8-way for the second time in two months. Their original world record in the 8-way stood at 31 points, set by the Knights, back in 1997. However, the Americans managed to set a new one of 32 in October this year, and set a new one of 33 points in Dubai.