The winners of this year's Gordon Bennett Cup: Laurent Sciboz (left) and Nicolas Tièche from Fribourg, Switzerland
zvg
Swiss teams have come first and second in the 63rd Gordon Bennett Cup, the oldest aviation competition in the world. They managed to land their gas balloons farther from the starting point than any of their opponents.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ts
All 20 teams took off from the French city of Montbéliard, near the Swiss border, on Friday. Eighty-three hours later the winners, Laurent Sciboz and Nicolas Tièche from Fribourg, touched down on the edge of the Black Sea 1,775 kilometres (1,103 miles) away.
The third Swiss team – up to three teams per country can take part – headed west and came down after 633kn in northwest France.
Historic competition
The Gordon Bennett CupExternal link, named after James Gordon Bennett Jr., publisher of the New York Herald, brings together the world’s best gas balloonists, who compete with each other on a simple principle: each team launches from the same location with the same quantity of gas. The team whose balloon lands farthest from the starting point after an average of 3-4 days of uninterrupted flight wins.
The first edition of the balloon competition, launched in 1906, was held in front of 200,000 spectators at the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.
More
More
Balloon race over Bern
This content was published on
As the Gordon Bennett gas balloon competition takes place in Bern for the first time, we also look back to its early days.
Two decades after tsunami, Swiss tourists flock to Southeast Asia
This content was published on
Twenty years after a catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia, the region is again a top destination for Swiss, including at Christmas.
Swiss forests better equipped for storms 25 years after Lothar
This content was published on
Twenty-five years after Hurricane Lothar wreaked havoc in Switzerland, the country’s forests are better prepared, experts say.
Media: Swiss medical services done abroad are billed at Swiss rates
This content was published on
In Switzerland, some medical services carried out abroad are still billed at Swiss rates, despite costing less, RTS reports.
This content was published on
Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team, has died in an avalanche in Arosa. She was 26 years old.
This content was published on
Several Swiss films exceeded the 100,000 admissions mark worldwide in 2024 and received widespread praise at international film festivals.
Swiss Alpine resorts covered in white gold for Christmas
This content was published on
Many areas at low altitudes in Switzerland are enjoying a blanket of snow. In the mountains, intense precipitation has delighted skiers.
SWISS makes emergency landing in Austria after smoke in cockpit
This content was published on
Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) made an emergency landing of an Airbus in Graz, Austria on Monday evening after engine problems.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The sky’s the limit: Swiss aviation pioneers
This content was published on
On the centenary of the first non-stop transatlantic flight, we look at the groundbreaking achievements of some Swiss aviation pioneers.
This content was published on
The duo, who make up the Fribourg Challenge team, covered a distanceExternal link of 3,666 kilometres (2,278 miles) in a span of 59 hours and 35 minutes during the annual America’s Challenge competition. They took off on Sunday from Albuquerque in the state of New Mexico and landed on Tuesday near Labrador City close to…
This content was published on
And even when inclement weather grounds the balloons, the mood in the alpine village in canton Vaud is far from deflated. After clear skies at the beginning of the nine-day festival, heavy snowfall has grounded the balloons and dashed hopes of an improvement in the weather before the last couple of days. It’s not good…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.