Christian "Chrigel" Maurer (born 1982), also known as "Chrigel the Eagle" or the "Eagle of Adelboden", is a Swiss paragliding competition pilot and endurance athlete who has won all eight Red Bull X-Alps "hike-and-fly" paragliding championships since 2009, including the 2023 edition.[1][2] He has also won the paragliding World Cup, World, European and Swiss championships multiple times, and the Pyreneean X-Pyr hike-and-fly championships four times (all editions since 2014, including 2022), as well as the Swiss Hang Gliding championships in 2007.[3][4][5]
 Maurer in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Chrigel the Eagle |
| Born | 1982 (age 41–42) Switzerland |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | chrigelmaurer |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Paragliding |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Highest world ranking |
|
In 2009, Maurer set an aerobatic world record for the most "Infinity Tumbles", performing 210 consecutive tumbles in a row in a paraglider.[6]
Since 2012 he has worked as advisor and test pilot for European paraglider manufacturers Ozone and Advance. He is also active in teaching and coaching the sport of competition paragliding, with emphasis on young paraglider pilots, and provides motivational speaking to groups and organizations.[7][8]
Maurer grew up in Adelboden, in the Bernese Highlands, where he attended elementary and secondary schools. At the age of four, in 1986, he flew with his father in a tandem paraglider for the first time. By the age of nine he was allowed to perform "flying exercises" near the ground and "small takeoffs". When he reached the legal flying age of 16, he passed his tests and received his flying certificate. While participating in flying competitions around the world, he worked as a bricklayer for two years, but by 2004 he decided to pursue a full-time career as a professional paragliding competitor and test pilot.[9]
In 2006 Maurer met his future wife, fellow Swiss paragliding champion and World Cup winner Karin Maurer (then Appenzeller), on the Paragliding World Cup (PWC) circuit, where they both competed and won gold medals in their respective categories.[10] The pair was dubbed "dream couple" by the local media, and married in 2007. They have two sons.[11][12][13][14]
His younger brother Michael is also an accomplished paragliding competition pilot.[15][16]
References
edit- ^ "Chrigel Maurer (SUI1) has done it again: 'The Eagle' has won his eighth Red Bull X-Alps in six days, six hours, and one minute". www.redbullxalps.com. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ "Chrigel Maurer Make History As He Claims Eighth Red Bull X-Alps Title | Sustain Health Magazine". 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "König der Lüfte bleibt König". Berner Oberländer (in German). 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Ewing, Ed (2022-06-25). "X-Pyr 2022: Chrigel Maurer – Interview With a Champion". xcmag.com/magazine-articles.
- ^ Cluff, Jilli (2022-07-06). "The Paragliding Adventure Race That Almost No One Finished: 'X-Pyr' 2022 Results". GearJunkie. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ "Chrigel Maurer New Infinity Tumbling Record". Cross Country Magazine. 2009-06-05.
- ^ "Chrigel Maurer". www.lowaboots.com. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ "Chrigel Maurer: Flying is like an iceberg – The Paraglider". Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ "Portrait – Chrigel Maurer" (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau. "Jungfrau Zeitung – Wird Chrigel Maurer Weltcupsieger?". www.jungfrauzeitung.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-19.
- ^ "Maurer gewinnt das 9. X-Alps". Berner Oberländer (in German). 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau (2006-11-17). "Sporttraumpaar ist glücklich gelandet". Jungfrau Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau (2006-11-13). "Doppelgold für Wilderswiler Gleitschirm-Traumpaar". Jungfrau Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau (2013-07-11). "Maurer passiert Amisbüel mit grossem Vorsprung". Jungfrau Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ "Michael Maurer Leads Roldanillo 2015 by a Whisker". xcmag.com. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ Zeitung, Jungfrau (2022-08-18). "Michael Maurer holt den Sieg". Jungfrau Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-21.