Toruń, Poland, 14 August 2026 – Poland’s Michał Bartler has soared to the top of the podium at the 26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship in Toruń, Poland to claim a gold for his first international title, with his national team also crowned team champions.
Bartler demonstrated remarkable consistency across all three navigation and four landing tasks showing his mastery of the skills required for FAI Precision Flying – expertise, focus and determination – to win a gold for his first FAI World Championship medal.
Speaking after the Closing Ceremony on 14 August, Bartler summarised the competition, saying: “It’s been quite a stressful week, long days and difficult tasks… Scores were super tight on over different days which increased the pressure… Now that the season is over, it’s time for rest and time for family.”
Although his teammate Kamil Wieczorek came out top of the navigation tasks, Bartler’s three perfect landings on the zero line gave him overall advantage ahead of Kamil Wieczorek who took silver, with Marcin Chrząszcz just behind him with bronze, pushing defending champion Michał Wieczorek into fourth place.
As the Polish team dominated the individual podium with all three medals, they also took gold on the teams podium, ahead of Czechia and France.
Competing on home territory gave a natural advantage but the Polish team have long reigned supreme in this sport, the 10-strong team largest among the 10 participating nations. Poland last conceded a team podium in 2009, to Czechia.
A total of 45 pilots participated, including for the first time, three pilots from China who were warmly welcomed by hosts from the Aero Club of Poland and the Pomeranian Aero Club.
Alongside the individual and team FAI World Champions, rankings were published for the female pilots and less experienced pilots. Of the four female pilots, Adèle Schramm of France ranked highest after a strong performance in navigation in which she was fifth overall individual. Backed by a solid set of landings including one on the zero line, she placed ninth in the overall rankings. The Czech team included a significant number of pilots with under 300 hours, strengthening the next generation of Precision pilots.
For Ralf Grunwald, President of the FAI General Aviation Commission, the variable weather conditions with changing wind situations gave the competitors plenty to think about: “The weather has kept everyone on their toes which is exactly what makes a world championship interesting. The pilots had to stay calm and be decisive no matter what the sky threw at them. Many thanks to the Aero Club of Poland and the Pomeranian Aero Club for their organisation and congratulations to all participants.”
Results
Individual
- Michał Bartler (POL)
- Kamil Wieczorek (POL)
- Marcin Chrząszcz (POL)
Team
- Poland
- Czechia
- France
NOTES FOR EDITORS
26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship
Toruń, Poland – 9-14 August 2026
FAI provided extensive coverage of the Championship with regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Images (free for editorial use, please credit) are available on Flickr.