posted Dec 28th, 2025 - The next stage of Niklas Hemlin’s special relationship with NMP PCH HayaBusa unfolded two years after Ottawa 2016. Together with his new teammate Mikhail Markine, who had replaced Chris Farina at the end of the 2015 season, he rebuilt the team over the following two years.

Niklas Hemlin had moved from inside center, a position he held in the world-championship lineup of 2012, to point in 2015. This marked Mikhail Markine’s first Airspeed slot, and in 2016 Niklas Hemlin returned to inside center.

Neither experiment proved successful. Niklas Hemlin at point in 2015 and Mikhail Markine at point in 2016 failed to produce the desired results, as NMP PCH HayaBusa continued to dominate the rivalry they had controlled since 2014. Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine once again restructured the lineup for the next two seasons, eventually settling into positions that would bring their greatest success between 2022 and 2024: Niklas Hemlin at outside center and Mikhail Markine at tail. Still, between 2017 and 2021, the Belgian team maintained its advantage.

What stood out most was the Airspeed duo’s persistence. Despite repeated setbacks, they never lost their drive to challenge NMP PCH HayaBusa. Niklas Hemlin, an Airspeed member since 2011, concluded his career after winning his second and third world championship titles in 2022 and 2024, adding to his first gold from Dubai in 2012. Mikhail Markine claimed his first world championship gold in 2022, his seventh year with Arizona Airspeed.

FAI Outdoor World Championship winners since 1985

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Niklas Hemlin won his first gold medal in 2012 and then spent an entire decade working toward his second, following a two-year break in 2013 and 2014. He suffered defeats at the hands of his Belgian rivals in 2016 and 2018 and did not even qualify for the FAI Tanay Mondial 2020, where SDC Rhythm XP represented the United States delegation.

NMP PCH HayaBusa held a significant advantage, maintaining an unchanged lineup from 2015 through 2019. Jeroen “Bob” Nollet replaced Roy Janssen far more quickly and effectively than anyone had expected after HayaBusa’s first gold medals at Prostejov 2014. The three 4-way world champions of 2014—Dennis Praet, David Grauwels, and Andy Grauwels—grew stronger each year alongside Jeroen Nollet. The team later replaced David Grauwels on his way to HayaBusa's camera slot with Italian superstar Michele Silvi and went on to claim another victory in Tanay.

Meanwhile, the new lineup formed by Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine in 2017—joined by Thiago Gomes, Ari Perelman, and cameraman David French—progressed far more rapidly than expected. Their average jumped from 23.9 at the Shamrock Showdown in March to 25.8 at the USPA Nationals in September. That same year, NMP PCH HayaBusa traveled to Perris to reaffirm their status as the world’s leading 4-way team, even on U.S. soil.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		21,L,B,G		22,18,17		19,7,O		J,16,12		10,A,D,15		Q,M,F,C,N		H,20,P,13		6,14,11		E,2,5		4,1,3		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	32		21		27	-2	24		22	-3	62	-2	22	-2	20	-1	27	-1	22		279	27.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	26	-5	21		27	-1	24		24	-1	60	-1	26		22		27		20		277	27.7
3	Aerodyne Realfly	FR	29	-1	19		24	-2	23		24		52	-3	20	-3	17	-3	24		19		251	25.1
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	24	-2	14	-1	24	-1	21		22		53	-4	21	-1	18		20		17		234	23.4
5	Echochamber	SE	25	-1	16		21	-1	17	-2	20	-1	48	-4	14	-3	18		21	-1	15	-1	215	21.5
6	Amnesya	IT	24	-2	14		20	-1	18		18	-1	48	-5	18		14	-2	21	-1	15		210	21.0
7	Airheads	CH	22	-3	14	-2	19	-2	17	-1	18		44		16		16	-2	18	-1	17		201	20.1
7	Satori XL	UK	21		14	-1	21		19		19		37	-3	19		17		18	-1	16	-1	201	20.1
9	Evolution	CA	21	-1	13	-2	22		18	-1	15	-3	43	-2	15	-5	15	-2	19		15		196	19.6
10	Airbus FSZ Saar	DE	21	-1	14	-1	17	-5	17		16	-1	45	-1	15	-3	14	-1	18	-1	15		192	19.2

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NMP PCH HayaBusa - Arizona Airspeed at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2018

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Arizona Airspeed absorbed the setback in Perris without losing confidence and continued to develop the lineup into its second year. The team’s progress was remarkable and set the stage for another historic battle for gold at Australia 2018. By October, Airspeed had completely closed the gap to HayaBusa and ultimately lost the meet only due to a five-point deduction in Round 1 and HayaBusa’s world-record Super Sequence performance in Round 6. Without the Round 1 penalty, Airspeed’s 2018 lineup would have held a four-point advantage across Rounds 2 through 10.

Niklas Hemlin was clearly ready with the Airspeed lineups of 2017 and 2018 to reclaim the top position in the 4-way world—one he had last held at Dubai 2012. Disaster followed in 2019, however, as the lineup fell apart. That year, SDC Rhythm XP won the USPA Nationals, and Niklas Hemlin did not compete at the next world championship, at least not in 4-way. He and Mikhail Markine salvaged the season by winning gold in the 8-way competition at Tanay 2021 with Airspeed XP8.

Niklas Hemlin and Mikhail Markine were far from discouraged. After the 2019 USPA Nationals, they rebuilt the Airspeed lineup once again, recruiting Joey Marshall and Chris Kuhlmann. This lineup went on to dominate the world’s 4-way competition from 2021 through 2024, mirroring the era of dominance NMP PCH HayaBusa had established between 2014 and 2021. Even so, Niklas Hemlin still needed a little help from the Belgians—an element that would define the third chapter of his special history with NMP PCH HayaBusa.

USPA Nationals 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Class		7,C,H,P		J,21,20		O,3,11		B,2,K,E		8,Q,10		15,D,F,12		N,L,M,14		6,1,9		A,18,13		G,4,5		17,16,22		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	45	-1	24		27		37		21		25		34		25	-1	26	-1	25	-4	-		289	28.9
2	SDC Rhythm XP	US	41		22		21	-1	33		21		23		27		25		24		25		21	-1	262	26.2
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	40	-1	24		22	-2	32		19	-2	24		29		25		21	-2	26	-1	20	-2	262	26.2
4	Defiance	US	30	-1	21		15	-4	28		16		19		22	-3	21		18	-1	18	-1	-		208	20.8
5	Ranch 2nd Generation	US	26		19		19		24	-2	16	-1	17	-1	24		18	-1	19		19		-		201	20.1
6	Kinetix	AU	26		18		17		22		13	-1	17		18	-1	17		17		17		-		182	18.2
7	Lite XP	US	24	-1	17		17		22		15		17		20	-2	16	-1	14		17		-		179	17.9
8	No Name	US	22	-4	17		14		19	-2	12	-2	13		14	-3	15		14		16		-		156	15.6
9	Aviatrixx	US	21		14		13	-1	18	-1	12	-2	15		17	-1	14	-1	12		14		-		150	15.0
10	Perris Force	US	20		13	-1	14		18		11	-1	11		18	-1	13	-1	12		12	-1	-		142	14.2

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NMP PCH HayaBusa - Arizona Airspeed at the USPA Nationals 2019

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