Pierre Wolnik, a two-time world skydiving champion within the self-discipline of freefly, died aged 37 following a parachute malfunction whereas skydiving over a mountain.
Wolnik skydived in a wingsuit from a helicopter to hold out a freefall skydiving leap within the Mont Blanc vary, a mountain vary within the French Alps, on Saturday, February seventh, as per experiences in Le Figaro, TF1 Information, and Le Dauphiné Libéré.
After a quick free fall, his parachute didn’t open.
French sports activities outlet Sport Tricolore confirmed Wolnik’s dying in a publish on X, calling him “a globally acknowledged title on the earth of wingsuit flying.”
Wingsuit flying is taken into account an excessive type of flying wherein skydivers use a particular swimsuit that consists of cloth hooked up to the legs and arms, which helps them glide at excessive speeds whereas decreasing their price of descent.
His physique was discovered within the village of Les Bossons, within the Chamonix valley, and first responders declared him useless on the scene, Le Figaro reported.
Additional, the publication wrote that the technical difficulty that brought about the parachute malfunction continues to be beneath investigation.
The athlete was a member of the French FAI World Championship group and was thought-about one of the distinguished wingsuit skydivers.
Wolnik, who was additionally knowledgeable videographer, was very energetic on the social media the place he had greater than 6,000 followers. He was typically posting very thrilling moments of his skydiving stunts.
In keeping with his Instagram profile, he was additionally a tunnel coach for devoted flyers.
The Fédération Française de Parachutisme posted a tribute to Wolnik. In a translated social media publish, they wrote: “It’s with profound disappointment that we announce the passing of Pierre Wolnik, which occurred on Saturday, February seventh.
“Pierre leaves behind the reminiscence of a teammate whose presence will endlessly be felt. In the present day, the whole sport parachuting neighborhood mourns and pays tribute to a younger man famend for his expertise and his distinctive character. On behalf of the whole Federation, we lengthen our honest condolences to his household, family members, teammates, coach, and the members of the French nationwide groups who had the privilege of figuring out him.”
🇫🇷 Double champion du monde de freefly, Pierre Wolnik nous a quittés à l’âge de 37 ans 🕊️
Determine mondiale du wingsuit, notre tricolore est décédé dans le Mont-Blanc suite à un problème de parachute.
Pensées pour la famille et les proches. pic.twitter.com/M20Sm0stOO
— SPORTRICOLORE (@sportricolore) February 9, 2026
FFP President Yves-Marie Guillaud additionally paid tribute to Wolnik in a separate assertion.
“Your complete sport parachuting neighborhood mourns a gifted younger man with such a pleasant smile,” Guillaud wrote by way of Fb, in accordance with Le Parisien. “Could the reminiscence of this distinctive parachutist fill our hearts.”
In an October publish shared on the social media, wherein he could possibly be seen gliding excessive over an unlimited mountain vary with one other diver, Wolnik wrote, “It appears that evidently too many people take this nice thriller of life as a right to a degree that they don’t even query the character of the expertise till the very finish of it.”
One other of his posts was captioned: “Flying excessive, feeling free 🪽. Good vibes, good crew — smiles don’t lie 🤘🏼. As a result of up there, every thing is smart.”
His followers additionally paid tribute to Wolnik.
“Relaxation in peace champion 🕊️,” one consumer commented.
“Fly free 🕊,” one other added.
“Condolences to his household!!” a 3rd consumer commented.
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