For the latest in paragliding competitions, we head south of the border. It was good news for American Josh Cohn, as he brought home victory at the Monarca Nextel Paragliding Open last month, January 6th-12th, in Valle de Bravo in Mexico.
Josh Cohn, sponsored by Eagle Paragliding and Flytech and using a Niviuk Icepeak glider, took high scores across a series of six tasks, rising to the top in a field of 122 pilots. Cohn won Tasks 4 and 6, and those strong performances, along with consistent high scores overall (he never placed lower than 10th) would be key.
At no time was victory assured for Cohn, and ultimately it was just a matter of consistency that propelled him to the win. For example, Marko Hrgetic of Croatia managed to get a perfect score in Task 3, leading Cohn by 67 points. Task 4, however, was trouble for Hrgetic, where he turned in a 741 to Cohn’s near perfect 999, a low score that would keep him in 3rd place when the competition was done.
Eventually it would come down to the final day, with Brett Hazlett of Canada holding an 11 point lead over Cohn. In the end, however, it would be all Cohn, as he won the task with a 994, netting an overall score of 5423. Hazlett’s final day was a disappointing 10th place, but he still managed 2nd overall, with a score of 5353.
Other American finishes include Nate Scales, coming in 5th with 4943, and Nicholas Greece, just behind him at 6th with 4915.
