Horacio
Llorens
Spain
·
Paragliding
Date of birth | 1 October 1982 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Madrid, Spain |
Age | 44 |
Nationality | Spain |
Discipline | Paragliding Aerobatic |
A pioneer of aerobatic paragliding, Horacio Llorens began his life with wings at 14, when watching his cousins fly at his uncle’s paragliding school in the Spanish industrial aviation hub of Albacete.
After training with his cousins, Raúl and Félix Rodríguez, he took to aerobatic paragliding, and together they set up the SAT (Safety Acro Team), a team which would travel the world, achieving great success.
Getting started with competitions
At 18, he entered his first competition, one of the very few synchronised aerobatic paragliding tournaments that existed in those days, as the discipline was regarded as too dangerous. Despite the lack of events, Llorens persevered, attempting complicated manoeuvres in a bid to develop the sport. His work paid off; in competition he had advanced much further than anybody else. Then, not long after placing second at Red Bull Vertigo in 2002, he found his synchro partner, Argentine Hernán Pitocco.
Breaking a world record
He always pushes himself to the limit. In 2012, Llorens smashed the world record for infinity tumbling – achieving 568 revolutions after jumping from a helicopter at 19,700ft (6,000m) above the Mayan ruins of Takalik Abaj in Guatemala and experiencing up to 6G with each rotation.
He’s also a five-time world champion and in 2016 Llorens experienced something unique – night flying in cold temperatures at the Aurora Borealis in Tromso, Norway. In 2017 he won King of Brenta in Molveno, Italy, then in 2018 he won the Aerobatic Paragliding World Tour event in Sonchaux, Switzerland.
Taking on major expeditions
During 2019-20, alongside fellow paraglider Tom de Dorlodot, he undertook a gruelling 350km unassisted bivouac journey across Himachal Pradesh, India. They battled harsh weather to complete the first-ever 6,200m flight over the Spiti Valley and became the first paragliders to fly over the Rohtang Pass.
Partnering with paraglider Rafael Goberna for the Red Bull film The Breaking Pointe in 2021, Llorens used a specialised, heavily loaded electric paramotor to weave between the 105m high water jets of Dubai's Palm Fountain – the world's largest fountain – during a highly complex night shoot. The same year, at the Aerobatic Paragliding World Championships, Horacio won the gold medal in the Synchronised category alongside his cousin Raúl Rodríguez, and the silver in the Solo overall category.
Again partnering with de Dorlodot during 2022-23, Llorens travelled to Pakistan's Karakoram range. The pair became the first paragliders to fly to K2 and ascend its massive face entirely via aerial soaring, reaching an altitude of 7,577m without stepping foot on the mountain itself.
During a solar eclipse in Mallorca in the summer of 2026, Llorens flew a paramotor through the Sóller valley, aligned perfectly with the setting sun during the 1m 36s window of totality, capturing iconic silhouette imagery as the sky went dark.