Chris is champion of the sky

Chris Byrnes broke three national records this week, and smashed his personal bests, in a sport most aren’t brave enough to try.

Chris Byrnes broke three national records at the Australian and New Zealand National Skydiving Championships in Moruya on 12/3/19.

CHRIS Byrnes broke three National Records against the country’s best skydivers at the Australian and New Zealand National Skydiving Championships in Moruya, New South Wales this week.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? If you see something green in the sky, chances are it is Chris.

Also known as The Green Flying Dude, Chris is a wingsuiter which means he dives out of planes using nothing but his wingsuit until he is ready to land.

The daring athlete, who often resides with his sister in Nundah, has represented Australia for the past five years and said he was ecstatic with his achievements in the competition.

“I felt elated, this is something I’ve poured my passion and life into for many years,” he said.

“Imagine learning how to swim without ever feeling water before. You have to be intune with your body and focused.

“It’s a really fun atmosphere here, it’s lots of people from all over Australia who all love doing the same thing.”

The skydivers exit the plane when they are 3.8km above the ground and are judged in the period between 3km-2km, and then deploy their parachutes to take them safely to the ground.

Chris Byrnes in his wingsuit at the Australian and New Zealand National Skydiving Championships in Moruya, NSW on 12/3/19.

A GPS device is attached to their helmets which the judges review to determine the winner in each round of speed, distance and time.

Chris broke a record in each round and “smashed” his personal bests.

Meet Director Jules McConnel said the championships were a great opportunity to showcase competitive skydiving to a wider audience.

“Tandem skydiving is obviously at the forefront of the public’s mind but there is another aspect to our world, and it is a sport like no other,” she said.

“While many people see skydiving as a one-off activity, those who choose to compete in or follow competitive skydiving, discover incredible athletes contesting numerous disciplines in a supercharged atmosphere.”

Chris said he trained hard just like any athlete would for any sport but it was his passion that drove him to succeed.

“It’s no different to any other sport. You need a minimum of 200 skydives before you can start to learn wingsuits,” he said.

“I would’ve done at least 1,250 sky dives in the last five years.

“Everyone has had a dream they can fly and skydiving is literally that.”