Chris J. Gay

Gay, D-11504, made his first jump in Georgia in 1986 and has logged more than 15,000 skydives in a 34-year career, making his mark mainly as a canopy formation skydiver, coach and organizer. He participated in and engineered numerous Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Records, including the 100-way diamond FAI World Record for Largest Canopy Formation Skydive. The record, set by the Canopy Formation World Team in 2007, still stands today.

Gay has picked up a staggering number of medals—58 in all—at the USPA National Collegiate Parachuting Championships, USPA National Parachuting Championships and FAI World Cups and World Championships. He shares his training techniques through camps and has inspired a legion of emerging CF fun jumpers and competitors in several countries. USPA awarded Gay with its Gold Medal for Meritorious Service in 2007 for “innovations that have redefined the discipline of canopy formation.” He also received a British medal—presented by Prince Andrew—honoring him for saving a fellow skydiver in mid-air.