posted Dec 30th, 2025 - The next major twist in the history—and in the special relationship between Niklas Hemlin and NMP PCH HayaBusa—came after Arizona Airspeed’s 4-way world champion from Dubai 2012 had to watch SDC Rhythm XP represent the United States at FAI Tanay 2021.

Dennis Praet had joined David Grauwels and Andy Grauwels on their own NSL Profiles after winning three consecutive sets of gold medals between 2014 and 2018. In contrast, Niklas Hemlin did not even compete in 4-way at Tanay. Instead, he could only observe the showdown between SDC Rhythm XP and NMP PCH HayaBusa while competing with Airspeed XP8 for the 8-way gold medals.

David Grauwels was already flying camera for HayaBusa after the Belgian team had quickly and efficiently integrated their new inside center, Michele Silvi. Neither the U.S. national team in 4-way Open nor any other competitor came close to challenging the defending 4-way world champions with their new lineup in Russia. Then, unexpectedly, the tables turned.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		20,16,B		P,D,21,13		17,K,11		E,A,19,22		2,9,M		C,14,F,12		3,6,18		4,10,1		8,Q,O,H		5,7,J		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	21	-1	28		27		27		31		23		21		20		32		31		261	26.1
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	20	-1	25	-2	21		23		28		20	-2	19		17		29		26		228	22.8

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Arizona Airspeed - NMP PCH HayaBusa at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2022

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The new Airspeed lineup—Niklas Hemlin, Mikhail Markine, Christopher Kuhlmann, and Joey Marshall—was already showing in 2020, following the 2019 USPA Nationals, what the 4-way world and its competitors would soon have to expect. Meanwhile, their main rivals, the HayaBusa world champions from 2014 to 2021, were facing an unexpected crisis after Airspeed’s breakthrough performances in 2020.

First, original member Andy Grauwels left the team after winning his fourth consecutive gold medal with the active lineup at Tanay. Dennis Praet, Jeroen Nollet, and Michele Silvi were unable to integrate new inside center Neal Willems quickly enough, with only one year remaining before the next outdoor World Championship—this time on Airspeed’s home soil at Skydive Arizona.

The newly assembled and carefully selected Airspeed lineup qualified easily for the event at the USPA Nationals 2021 and entered the competition in their third year together. In contrast, the restructured HayaBusa lineup was still in the process of bringing their new inside-center engine up to world-champion pace and performance level. As a result, the Belgians had no realistic chance at Eloy 2022, finishing second and 33 points behind Arizona Airspeed (261–228).

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		14,G,13		J,C,17,12		D,A,21,P		18,B,H,F		E,L,O,8		22,2,K		6,7,16		9,20,15		3,M,N,4		5,1,10		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	24		27	-1	33		36		31		23		26		26		25		22	-1	273	27.3
2	Aethers	FR	22		23	-4	33		32	-1	29		23		22		21		25		22		252	25.2
3	Qatar Tigers	QA	21		20	-3	26	-2	32		29	-1	20		21		20		19	-2	20		228	22.8
4	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	19		21	-2	25		25		25	-1	20		19		17		21	-1	20		212	21.2

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Arizona Airspeed - NMP PCH HayaBusa at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024

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The troubles for NMP PCH HayaBusa did not end after their fourth world championship title in 2021. Michele Silvi left the team almost as unexpectedly after the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023 in Norway, where HayaBusa finished third—still 29 points behind Arizona Airspeed (267–238).

By that time, Arizona Airspeed—now featuring three new 4-way world champions alongside Niklas Hemlin—had already enjoyed two additional years of stability with their lineup, while NMP PCH HayaBusa had not yet even recruited a replacement for Michele Silvi for the next outdoor world championship. It came as no surprise that the U.S. team won convincingly at Crystal Coast 2024. The event marked the first outdoor world championship since 2010 in which NMP PCH HayaBusa failed to finish in any medal position.

Adding to the Belgians’ challenges was the emergence of a new top contender in 4-way competition. The young French national team, Aethers, had entered the scene ready to challenge the world’s best teams over the coming decade. After finishing fourth in 2022, they climbed to second place in 2024.

With his vast competitive experience, Niklas Hemlin could clearly see that Airspeed would soon face more than just the rebuilding Belgian team, now introducing Ray Lodens as Michele Silvi’s replacement. Two additional teams were likely to reach Airspeed’s performance level in the near future. At the peak of his career—with three 4-way world titles (2012, 2022, 2024) and one 8-way world title (2021)—Niklas Hemlin decided to step back. However, this was still not the end of the story in the shared history of Niklas Hemlin and NMP PCH HayaBusa.

FAI Outdoor World Championship winners since 1985

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