Here are some highlights from the 2009 World Freerun Championships that was up this weekend (August 15th) in London’s Trafalgar Square. The 8,000 tickets for the event had been sold out for weeks but it was also broadcasted live on BBC 3 and featured 27 of the top freerunners representing 16 different countries. Within just one year the WFC has exploded on the scene, last year’s competing was also sold out, it was held at London’s Roundhouse with 2,000 spectators.
Little info on freerunning, many people think that its the same thing as parkour but its really a derivative of it. Parkour is about efficiency of movement and moving in the environment as fluidly as possible. Freerunning on the other hand encourages creativity and freedom of expression so that’s why you see a much more flips, vaults and jumping and climbing.
Freerunning is also giving birth to a new subculture, no longer just a sport its now an emerging lifestyle and culture. Its still in its infancy so its borrowing bits from the skate and hip hop culture with its music and fashion styles buts still a growing thing to keep an eye on.
Take a peep at what the course the freerunners competed on after the jump, it definitely looked like a fun playground to jump around in.
