South Korea's MinJae Kim (top picture) dominated the Drone Racing at The World Games on Day Two as he soared to the top of the leaderboard during the Qualification rounds. 

• Results & draws

MinJae finished the day with an average lap time of 22.653s – a full 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed Yuki Hashimoto (JPN), who finished the day with an average lap time of 25.293.

However, there was as much high tension action at the other end of the leaderboard as at the top as one of drone racing's superstars, Killian Rousseau from France, blew up during the early races leaving him languishing at the bottom of the ranking until the very last moment. 

With four out of five Qualification rounds flown he was forced to rebuild his drone in the break between rounds four and five – and came back to fly a storming round that saw him leap up the leaderboard into the top 10. The drama left the livestream race commentator almost speechless: "Killian is returned to life! Killian is back!"

KILLIAN'S KNIFE EDGE

Killian Rousseau (FRA)

The day started early at The World Games in Chengdu, China as the drone athletes headed out to the race track at Dong'an Lake Sports Park Athletics Field where they dived right in to the first races of the day.

Qualification consists of five full rounds of competition for all 31 pilots. In each round the aim is to complete three full laps of the race track in a given three minutes. From a possible total of 15 laps over five rounds a pilot's top three lap times are averaged out to give them an average best lap time, which then determines their place in the Qualification ranking.

In theory it should be straightforward, but there was an early upset when one of the race favourites, Killian Rousseau, crashed out early on – and then did it again in the next round. His bad luck continued after the lunch break and by round five he only had two complete laps in the bag – leaving him languishing at the bottom of the leaderboard. 

It meant everything came down to the last round for him – but he pulled it off. His final round was clean and fast, giving him an average lap time of 28.72s and putting him in eighth place.

"Today was not the day I was hoping for," he said immediately after flying his successful final round, "but that's drone racing. You face a lot of issues, especially in competition." 

He explained that problems with the electronics on his racing drones meant he couldn't fly well for three rounds. Pilots have a set of three racing drones which they can use in the competition – and they are allowed to rebuild them using spare parts.

"I was kind of in a bad position, but [I thought] we're going to bounce back and I re-built some electronics on my drone," he said. Faced with rebuilding the electronics on his other drones before tomorrow's racing he said, "I'm going to have a long night tonight!"

FIRST PLACE

Meanwhile, at the top of the leaderboard race leader MinJae Kim was having much better luck and showing his confidence. "This time I had a chance and I took it," said. 

MinJae flew an almost perfect five rounds completing and scoring 15 flights out of a possible 15. His three fastest flights were: 22.482s; 22.713; and 22.763s. That gave him his average lap time of 22.653s.

What's his secret?

"There's no secret. It's hard work and passion," he said. "I have been putting so much work in this year to be the best in the world in drone racing and I think I'm almost there."

He added: "Of course I get nervous. All of the best pilots in the world are here at The World Games, which is one of the best competitions in the world. But I have practised a lot, I know I can beat the others, I have confidence and my confidence means I have less nerves."

All 31 pilots are now ranked by average lap time and progress through to the Elimination rounds on Friday and Saturday. A complex system of seeding during the Elimination rounds is designed to ensure fair and even competition, meaning the fastest and most consistent pilots should progress through to the final on Saturday evening.

Follow the competition

FAI provides extensive coverage of the competition, with regular updates on its website, Facebook, and Instagram.

• FAI Facebook
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• The World Games 2025 - Drone Racing event - Website
• Livestream - All stages of the race will be live-streamed
• Results & draws
• FAI Flickr (images)
• #TWG2025
• #airsports

About The World Games

The World Games: 7-17 August 2025
The World Games drone racing event: 13-16 August 2025

The World Games is a prestigious multi-sport event organised by the International World Games Association (IWGA) under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Held every four years, The World Games showcases the best athletes in non-Olympic sports, providing a global platform for emerging and innovative disciplines. Air Sports have been part of The World Games since 1997.

Photo credit: FAI/Marcus King