posted Feb 13th, 2026 - The recent NSL News story of the Golden Knights included a review and comparison with the U.S. Army’s 4-way lineup from 2001 to 2003, including 8-way world champions of 1995 and 1997, John Hoover and Eric Heinsheimer. The update also mentioned that their teammate Kurt Isenbarger later added his name to the William H. Ottley Sword for 8-way world champions — also known as the 8-way Excalibur — in Dubai 2012.

Former 8-way team captain Sean Sweeney reminded the NSL News that the fourth Golden Knights member of 2004, Chris Talbert, has his name engraved on the 8-way Excalibur as well. Although achieved at a different time, the four teammates from the 2003 lineup ultimately reached the same milestone across three separate outdoor world championships (1997, 2004, and 2012). However, they narrowly missed the 4-way gold medal in Gap 2003.

Chris Talbert left the U.S. Army after the 2003 outdoor world championship and joined Arizona Airspeed’s 8-way team, which was looking for new members following the dramatic 11-round competition and tie-breaking procedure at the same event in Gap. The U.S. delegation left France with two silver medals — one in 4-way and one in 8-way — while France won the 4-way competition and Russia claimed gold in 8-way.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2003			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		1,11,12	M,J,E,10	K,16,6	13,14,5	D,22,4	9,C,Q,N	F,19,21	2,20,L	18,B,3	8,P,7	G,O,17,H	Total	Avg
1	Evolution Pro	RU	23	19	24	16	26	21	19	18	21	15	19	202	20.2
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	23	19	24	17	23	20	19	17	24	16	19	202	20.2
3	Maubeuge	FR	25	17	21	13	25	20	16	16	24	16	-	193	19.3
4	Ex3mo	IT	15	14	19	12	15	14	13	12	17	13	-	144	14.4
5	VNE	UK	11	14	18	11	13	14	14	12	16	-	-	123	13.7
6	Australia	AU	16	14	16	11	13	11	14	8	15	-	-	118	13.1
7	Germany	DE	14	12	11	8	12	10	10	9	12	-	-	98	10.9
8	Austria	AT	0	5	7	6	7	5	7	4	8	-	-	49	5.4

The same three 8-way medalists from 2003 (Russia, United States, and France) returned a year later in Rijeka 2004, producing an even more thrilling 8-way competition — this time with a very different outcome. The new Airspeed 8-way lineup, now featuring former Golden Knights member Chris Talbert, held a three-point lead over France and a five-point advantage over defending champion Russia after Round 9.

Round 10 was never completed in Rijeka, as bad weather once again interfered at the end of the meet. A powerful storm had destroyed Tent City before the competition began, forcing organizers to quickly repair and relocate the facilities. While the 4-way event was ultimately completed, the 8-way teams were unable to jump the final round, which had promised yet another dramatic finale.

As a result, Arizona Airspeed did not have to defend its three-point lead in the last round, and the U.S. delegation in Croatia converted the two silver medals from Gap 2003 into gold one year later. The 2003–2004 period also marked the transition when FAI/ISC moved the World Championship cycle from odd-numbered to even-numbered years. Russia, the 2003 gold medalist, finished third in Croatia, while France improved from bronze in 2003 to silver in 2004. The new Airspeed 8-way lineup — with five returning members (Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard, Kirk Verner, Neal Houston, Dennis Rook), three new members (Chris Talbert, Andy Honigbaum, Michael Inabinet), and Jeremy Peters on camera for Steve Nowak — secured Airspeed’s second set of 8-way world championship gold medals.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2004			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		B,P,C,18	9,15,16	K,11,19	E,F,7,5	A,J,21,12	6,4,10	17,Q,L,1	H,14,3	13,22,O	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	20	23	16	17	19	20	19	21	17	172	19.1
2	Maubeuge	FR	21	19	16	16	20	20	19	20	18	169	18.8
3	Evolution Pro	RU	18	20	17	16	18	19	20	20	19	167	18.6
4	Remscheid	DE	15	17	13	11	14	16	12	14	14	126	14.0
5	Ex3mo	IT	12	15	14	11	15	16	13	15	14	125	13.9
6	Australia	AU	10	12	9	9	9	9	10	11	9	88	9.8
7	South Africa	ZA	12	10	6	6	9	11	9	10	10	83	9.2
8	Austria	AT	10	10	9	9	8	10	9	9	8	82	9.1
9	Great Britain	UK	10	6	9	9	8	9	8	7	9	75	8.3
10	Japan	JP	9	6	9	6	5	9	7	5	7	63	7.0

Rijeka 2004 marked the last time Arizona Airspeed won 8-way world championship gold medals, and Chris Talbert did not continue competing after securing his name on the William H. Ottley Sword for 8-way world champions. However, current and former Airspeed members Kirk Verner and Craig Girard later joined forces with current and former Golden Knights Matt Davidson and Brian Krause to capture new 8-way gold medals for Paraclete XP8 in Eloy 2022, and again at Crystal Coast 2024.

This time, Andrew Starr, Jesse Stahler, and Mike Connors represented the U.S. Army alongside former Golden Knights world champion Matt Davidson. Former Airspeed world champion Kirk Verner also returned to the lineup. After the 2024 victory, current Golden Knights members Jesse Stahler and Mike Connors did not continue with XP8, shifting their focus to winning 4-way gold medals instead. Their teammates Nick Birkner and Mitch Stockenberg, together with team videographer Skyler Romberg, will now attempt to add their names to one of the two Excalibur swords.

In fact, no current or former Golden Knights member has yet claimed the 4-way Excalibur. The next opportunity comes this October in Eloy, where the French team Aethers and NMP PCH HayaBusa share the same objective. Of the three teams, only HayaBusa’s Dennis Praet and Jeroen Nollet currently have their names engraved on the 4-way sword. If Nick Birkner, Mike Connors, and Mitch Stockenberg do not secure the title this year, they will continue their pursuit of 4-way gold for the next two-year cycle — then with Skyler Romberg in the lineup.