The Fastest Human in a Wingsuit
Tahi-Paul Munroe burst onto the competitive wingsuit scene at the 2023 World Skydive Championships, securing a gold medal in speed, an Australian first. With little training leading up to the competition, it was a massive upset to the veterans of the discipline. Sporting the new title of “Fastest Human in a Wingsuit”, Tahi took the opportunity to compete in his first BASE Race at Sass Pordoi. We caught up with him to talk about his experience:
2022 World Championships PC: Alex Swindle
How long have you been skydiving? Wingsuiting? BASE jumping?
I have been skydiving for 13 years and I have almost 13,000 skydives. I started wingsuiting in 2012 and that became my focus for many years. I also started BASE jumping that same year in Australia and quickly realized I needed to be a good canopy pilot to keep out of our big, luscious trees!Can you describe what it felt like to win the gold medal in Speed at Worlds?
To win the gold medal for speed at worlds in 2022 at phoenix, Arizona was a complete trip. I had zero expectation going into the competition as I didn’t do any training prior to arriving in phoenix but after a few training jumps, my teammate, Luke Rogers AKA 'Dave', proceeded to tell me I had a chance to win a medal. I thought he was joking at first but then after seeing previous tracks and results of other competitors, I realized he wasn't joking.Winning a medal for my first major competition made me hungry to put the effort in and chase the dragon. I'm super hungry to compete against the world's best and see where I end up."I thought he was joking"
2022 World Championships PC: Alex Swindle
How did you get involved in the Pordoi BASE Race?
Pure luck, actually. I saw a few jumpers training 1day prior to the race and I asked if I could join, and the rest is history. Super stoked to have been given the opportunity to join in what was my first BASE race and prove that I can hold my own with some of the veterans of the sport.