KUNMING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Australian Scott Paterson took the lead on the opening day of the 2019 "Wings for Love" Wingsuit Flying World Cup Trials in southwest China's Yunnan province.
A total of 15 world top wingsuit flyers from 11 countries participated in the event, slated to run from Friday to Sunday in Yunnan's Jinggu Dai and Yi autonomous county.
The flyers are required to jump from a helicopter at an altitude of 1,000 meters and land as close as possible to a target on the ground after passing through a 20-meter-wide gap between two hot air balloons at a height of 200 meters.
In Friday's event, Paterson completed his flight despite high winds and made an accurate landing, missing the target by only 0.16 meters. Yang Sheng from China and Vincent Cotte from France finished second and third respectively.
The second and third rounds will be held on the next two days, and the final standings will be decided by the sum of scores in all three rounds.
The tournament's prize money will be donated to impoverished children in Jinggu county, according to the organizers.
Jinggu, with stable weather conditions and high visibility, has a unique natural environment suited for wingsuit flying.
