Curtis Bartholomew is a multiple FAI World Champion in one of the most visually exciting air sport disciplines out there – Canopy Piloting, also known as Swooping.

Bartholomew made his first parachute jump on 21 June 2006 when he completed an accelerated free-fall course. In the decade that followed he completed more than 7,000 jumps.

In 2015 he won the FAI World Air Games gold medal in Canopy Piloting – his fifth FAI world title. He said at the time: “It means everything. This is my fifth world title. I was pushing to get this one before I turned 30 because it is the last recognised FAI world title I haven’t won yet.”

An accelerated free-fall instructor in Deland, Florida, he and his wife Jeannie Bartholomew (pictured with him) are regulars on the international Canopy Piloting circuit. The couple, who met at a dropzone at a mutual friend's wedding, jump, train, instruct and travel together.

For spectators, Canopy Piloting is exhilarating to watch as all the main action happens close to the ground, above a swooping pond.  It lets spectators experience the high speeds as the skydivers perform right in front of them.

"Being able to go 100mph under a canopy with no motor and have the ground right there, that's what draws us to it. It's an awesome feeling," Bartholomew says.