Paragliding Champion

Chrigel Maurer

Fast forward eleven years and Chrigel is now taking part in his first world championship in Mexico, getting to know the world elite and refining his skills. Paragliding is a tactically driven sport, that requires a lot of planning but also the ability to cover ground with your feet. Climbing up to launch points requires the athlete to have energy reserves and their body to be at the right temperature, which often is difficult when covering a lot of altitude. The ability to fly isn’t reserved for birds and superheroes. It also belongs to the athletes of the sky. Athletes like Chrigel “The Eagle of Adelboden” Maurer. As paragliding athlete, he’s experienced the alps from a new perspective. From the foot of the mountains to the airspace above them, he’s found a way to control the elements.

Chrigel Maurer is one of the most decorated athletes in the paragliding world, winning three consecutive World Championship titles, European Championships, Swiss Championships, and beating his competitors in six Red Bull X-Alps competitions. There isn’t much that Chrigel hasn’t achieved in his professional career and he has become a legend in his sport.

“As a child, I was really fascinated by the birds, because they flew away and they were completely free. I also wanted this feeling to be free.” – Chrigel Maurer

From an early age on, Chrigel looked towards the sky for inspiration, and unlike so many of us, he found it. His desire to spread his own wings and fly in search of freedom started when he was just seven years old, experiencing his first paraglide with a tandem. From that moment on he knew that he wanted to be a professional paraglider.

Fast forward eleven years and Chrigel is now taking part in his first world championship in Mexico, getting to know the world elite and refining his skills. Paragliding is a tactically driven sport, that requires a lot of planning but also the ability to cover ground with your feet. Climbing up to launch points requires the athlete to have energy reserves and their body to be at the right temperature, which often is difficult when covering a lot of altitude. Since 2007 Chrigel “the Eagle of Adelboden” has put his trust in X-Bionic® and X-Socks® products, to regulate his performance temperature throughout his strenuous competitions. The demanding hikes before his flights cause him to sweat, which would be a problem during the actual flight if it wasn’t for the patented sweat management system inside the garments.

His training routine during the season incorporates a lot of running and Hike & Fly, which as the name suggests is a combination of hiking and flying, as well as a regimented training routine. During the off-season, you’ll still find Chrigel in the mountains but instead of his paraglider on his back, you’ll find a pair of skies there.