posted Apr 28th, 2026 - The recent French success at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026, where the 4-way Open team Aethers joined forces with the 4-way Women team Nephtys to also claim 8-way gold, prompted NSL News to revisit previous double-gold attempts. French national coach Mathieu Bernier remains the only competitor in history to achieve double gold in 4-way Open and 8-way at the same FAI World Championship, which he accomplished in Menzelinsk 2010. Jeana Billings matched the feat in the 4-way Women and 8-way categories at Crystal Coast 2024.

NSL News also highlighted that the Aethers/Nephtys combination at Weembi Lille marked the first time an entire 4-way lineup achieved the double-gold mission together. This renewed attention brought up several earlier attempts that fell just short by narrow margins.

Kirk Verner made his own attempts while training and competing with the original Arizona Airspeed lineup. Alongside Dan Brodsky-Chenfield, Jack Jeffries, and Mark Kirkby, he initially focused solely on winning 4-way Open events in 1995 and 1997. The team expanded its goals to include 8-way after Craig Girard joined in Eloy, but their double-gold attempt in 1999 fell short. Craig Girard later pursued the same goal with Airspeed Vertical in 2001, but again without success.

FAI World Cup 1996			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	24	21	19	16	19	27	21	20	16	22	205	20.5
2	Maubeuge	FR	23	10	14	15	17	25	20	18	17	21	180	18.0
3	Airspeed Vortex	US	22	18	14	13	18	18	18	17	17	20	175	17.5
FAI World Cup 1996			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	20	18	22	21	21	20	16	21	19	19	197	19.7
2	Russia	RU	19	20	21	17	19	18	14	19	19	19	185	18.5
3	Hautes Alpes	FR	18	18	20	18	18	19	14	18	16	16	175	17.5

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Sebastian XL - DeLand VNE - DeLand Equanmity VNE at the FAI World Cup 1996

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Kirk Verner later reminded NSL News of another successful double-gold achievement that had not been mentioned in the aftermath of this year’s FAI Indoor World Cup. It took place at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 1996 in Leopoldsburg, Belgium, where the original Arizona Airspeed lineup won both the 4-way and 8-way events.

Dan BC, Jack Jeffries, Mark Kirkby, and Kirk Verner had secured their first world championship title in 1995, defeating the French TAG Team, with John Lemming on camera. For the World Cup in Belgium a year later, they recruited four Airspeed 8-way team mates to their lineup—completing the first successful double-gold mission.

Defending their 4-way title in 1997 remained the top priority for the original team, even though Craig Girard had already returned to Arizona. As a result, 8-way training and competition became increasingly important after 1997 in the pursuit of another double-gold performance. After reclaiming the William H. Ottley Sword for world champions—also known as the 4-way “Excalibur”— and bringing it back to Arizona, the team had firmly established its 4-way dominance and was ready for the double-gold attempt. However, the double-gold feat would not be repeated again until Aethers achieved it indoors earlier this month.

FAI World Championship 1987			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	TAG Team	FR	13	13	14	16	13	14	14	13	12	12	134	13.4
2	Golden Knights	US	13	10	11	16	12	14	14	12	13	13	128	12.8
3	Amadeus	AT	12	11	11	15	11	11	13	12	11	11	118	11.8
Rank	8-way Open		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
FAI World Championship 1987			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	16	11	10	13	13	14	14	15	13	-	119	13.2
2	France	FR	14	10	10	12	13	13	16	15	14	-	117	13.0
3	Russia	RU	13	9	9	10	12	13	14	14	11	-	105	11.7

A closer review of Formation Skydiving competition history—prompted by Kirk Verner’s correction about the 1996 World Cup in Belgium—also revealed the earliest double-gold attempt since 1985.

The Golden Knights launched their first “Decade of 8-way Excellence” when they took over the top U.S. 8-way position from the Coors 8-way team, which had won the inaugural FAI World Championship title under the current format for the U.S. delegation in Mali Lošinj in 1985. The U.S. Army team went on to win the USPA Nationals in 1986 and then traveled to Brazil for the FAI World Championship 1987, where they captured the 8-way title by two points over a highly trained French team.

However, the French 4-way team proved too strong for the Golden Knights’ 4-way lineup, which included team captain Andy Gerber competing for the U.S. delegation in 1987. Tom Piras—4-way world champion in 1985 with the DeLand Air Bears—had guided the French TAG Team professionally to the top of the 4-way standings. As a result, the Golden Knights finished second in 4-way, falling short of completing the double-gold mission despite their 8-way victory. Mathieu Bernier therefore remains the only competitor to have won both 4-way Open and 8-way gold medals at the same outdoor World Championship.