Swiss duo wins Gordon Bennett gas balloon world championship

Swiss pilots Balthasar Wicki and René Erni won the 69th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett gas balloon world championship. Starting from Gladbeck, Germany, the duo flew 1,555.18 kilometers over a period of 41 hours and four minutes.

While most of the 23 competing teams chose a route through Poland and the Suwałki Gap, Wicki and Erni utilized a unique northern strategy. Their flight path took them over the Baltic Sea, through southern Sweden, and across Estonia before they finally landed east of Helsinki, Finland.

The Swiss team secured first place ahead of teams from Austria and France. Other notable participants, including the defending champions from Switzerland, faced challenges; one team was forced to land in Latvia due to technical issues.