More than 6,000 people packed the Stortorget market square in Helsingborg as Red Bull Art of Motion made its Swedish debut on Saturday, August 22.
In one of the biggest free running events yet staged, 17-year-old Delyan ‘Dido’ Dimitrov blew the competition away, top-scoring in both the first and final rounds of the contest. It was an impressive result for the Bulgarian, with such a strong field of athletes – 17 in all from 10 countries – including the UK’s Tim Shieff (pictured), crowned World Freerun Champion just a week before in London’s Trafalgar Square. Shieff was third in Sweden behind Germany’s Jason Paul, himself an impressive third in London, and just a point behind Dimitrov in a high-quality final.
“It feels unbelievable,” said Dimitrov. “Winning this is a dream come true and the biggest moment of my life.”
As well as the plaudits, Dimitrov took home a not-insubstantial prize of 15,000 Swedish kronor (€1,500).
The free runners had just 90 seconds to impress the five judges, among them Ryan Doyle, who was also on the panel at the world championships. A maximum of 120pts were available for difficulty, creativity, flow and execution.
Local favourite Filip Ljungberg landed a front flip with one-and-a-half twist over the highest jump in the course during his run, and though this wasn’t enough overall to take him into the final, it got the best reception of the night from his home-town faithful.
“This was a great night and a fantastic event all the way through,” Ljungberg enthused after his 10th-place showing. “What a positive feeling!”
Final results
1. Delyan Dimitrov (Bulgaria) – 100pts
2. Jason Paul (Germany) – 99pts
3. Tim Shieff (UK) – 95pts
4. Bjarke Hallden (Denmark) – 89pts
5. Victor Lopez (USA) – 88pts
6. Pavel Petkuns (Latvia) – 87pts
7. Khoa Huynh (Germany) – 86pts
8. Neil Hutson (UK) – 77pts
Comments
Add a comment