“Thousands of pilots have lost a friend, a star, a dream and their faith.”At the heart of the “parapentosphere”, Timo Leonetti was all of that at once.
Record-breaking prodigy, his name was written next to those who were legends in their disciplines.
Timo Leonetti participated in the French distance paragliding championshipswhich were held all week at Passy Plaine-Joux, in Haute-Savoie.
The competition brought together almost 300 pilots from thirty-two countries to compete in different events.
It was during the round on Thursday June 13 that the accident took place. Transported in serious condition to Annecy hospital centerthe young man unfortunately succumbed to his injuries.
Eighteen months for his baptism, eleven years for his first solo flight
And left behind a whole world in shock.
Since then, expressions of affection have multiplied. In the middle, we cry “the tragic end of a talented pilotfriendly, funny, kind, intelligent, very popular and appreciated by the paragliding community around the world“.
Timo Leonetti was a child of the ball, son of Stéphane and Alexandra, a couple of paragliding instructors, almost born under a wing. He was only 18 months old on the day of his baptism, and only eleven years old for his first solo flight.
Trained in the Brazilian dunes where his parents went flying during the winter, he had Corsica learned “to pilot on the ground, to control, to know the reactions” of his wing, until he was able to set off alone.
He was not yet an adult when he decided to tackle long distances, flights of more than 100 km in the sky of the Colombia.
And it was at just 19 years old that he rose among the elite of his discipline by winning, in 2022, the World XContest against more than 23,000 drivers from around the world.
Records in spades
He repeated the feat the following year and took the opportunity to smash world records by the shovel. That of distance on a triangular course, then speed on a triangular course. Timo doesn’t fly, he hovers. In the process, he goes South Africa where, at the end of a 10-hour flight of 562.7 km, he broke the continent’s record… And in the process awarded himself the title of first athlete to have completed flights of more than 500 km in two continents (he had traveled 569 km in Brazil in 2021).
Just a month ago, he signed the record for the longest flight ever made in Corsicawith 193 km covered in eight hours.
“His memory will accompany us on each of our flights”
Originally from Balagne and registered with Club Futtiventu de Corte, this is undoubtedly where Timo will leave the biggest void. Yesterday, “there Corsican free flight community but also climbing, mountaineering and all outdoor sports [était] in mourning”. “Timo was respected, insists the league, and admired by all the pilots of the world, loved in Corsica for his sympathy and his enthusiasm […] and his memory will accompany us on each of our flights. He leaves behind a huge void.”
