Romanian athlete Toma Coconea ranked 10th in the recently finalized Red Bull X-Alps adventure competition, which required him to run, walk and paraglide across the Alps. It took Coconea 13 days to finish the competition, and to reach the 10 mandatory checkpoints, after leaving from Salzburg: Gaisberg in Austria at 1,288 meters, Dachstein also in Austria, at 2,995 meters, Wildkogel also in Austria, Zugspitze in Germany at 2,962 meters, Ortler, Sulden in Italy – 1,906 meters, Interlaken in Switzerland - 568 meters, Matterhorn in Switzerland – 4.478 meters, Mont Blanc in France – 4.810 meters, Saint Hilaire in France – 995 meters, and Monaco.

“For me, the decision on Matterhorn was crucial, it was then decided whether I finished on the podium or not. Unfortunately, the weather was not on my side and I had to work with it the day I reached the peak. If the weather was good and allowed me to paraglide, things would have been different,” said Coconea after the two – week extreme adventure. The Romanian was accompanied by his team members Daniel Pisica- main sponsor and Adrian Miclea- secondary sponsor. The race was finalized by 27 out of 30 competitors.

Coconea traveled a total of 2,458 kilometers, out of which 1,678 kilometers he flew by paraglide, and 780 he walked or run. He rested for 123 hours – an average of four hours of sleep a night-  was up in the air for 55 hours, and run or walked for 108 hours. He had to change eight sports shoes and drank 65 liters of water during the two-week competition.

Coconea is a 38-year old Romanian paragliding instructor who has been practicing this sport since 1991, and who has been an instructor since 1999. He got the second place at Red Bull X-Alps two times in the past and several times came on the first place at the Romanian Open. He explored all major cliffs of the Alps, Kilimanjaro, Carpathian mountains and has been attending international competitions since 1994. “For me each day is a training day. If the weather allows it, I do cross country flights and a minimum of 25km of running each day,” said Coconea.

The Red Bull X-Alps competition is an adventure race where 30 athletes must navigate through the Alps via several turnpoints and must cover the distance by either flying with a paraglider or on foot. No motorised transport is permitted and they must carry their glider at all times, but participants can nominate a supporter to provide food, shelter and information. This year's edition was won by Austrian Christian Maurer, who also won the previous two competitions.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photos: Red Bull and Toma Coconea's Facebook page)