Chengdu marked the second edition of The World Games where Drone Racing featured as a sport following its debut in TWG 2022 Birmingham and also for Korea’s Mo Gayeon.
Air Sports have made up most of the 25 year old’s life inside and outside the course but TWG is also a reminder for her what could have been.
Wushu – another one of the 34 sports that featured in Chengdu – was Gayeon’s first TWG discipline that she came across.
“I got into FPV (first person view) drone racing in 2016 when I was in high school,” revealed Gayeon who’s commonly known in the drone community as MOGA FPV. “I was learning Wushu in Korea and my team coach from Wushu was also teaching me drones, how to play.”
“I thought ‘Oh this is really good and so fun’, so I just got into it.”
Rather inadvertently but Gayeon has her old Wushu coach to thank for a stellar career in something that has also taken her around the world.
At 17 she won silver in the Women’s event at the 2018 FAI World Drone Racing Championships helping Republic of Korea get team bronze at Shenzhen.
That was her biggest individual medal thus far, but Gayeon was also a part of the Korean team that claimed both team golds at World Cups in Namwon 2023 and Hangzhou 2024.
So far, she has been unable to translate her World Cup and Championship form into The World Games, only coming up with two round of 32 repechage finishes in Birmingham and Chengdu.
“For me, I can't compare,” she added on the difference between the two. “When I went to the USA and China, the style of the track was different. In the USA it was huge, so everyone thought, ‘oh, is it possible?’ But now they’ve a little bit of a shorter course.”
“That’s the difference for the pilots now.”
Navigating the course – from a bird’s eye view aptly the same shape as the head of a panda – was just one of the things Gayeon had to do in China and throughout her career.
Alongside her job as a freelancer drone filmmaker – which has seen her work with major fashion brands such as Fendi and Chanel – she is largely an individual at these events with all modifications and training scheduled by herself.
“I actually don't have a team for now. When I’m in Korea, it’s just me and my coach helping each other or when I go away somewhere (for competitions), there are lots of people who can help me.”
“I can fix my drone by myself, but if I need, they can help me.”
The Seoul resident will not be the only one in the drone racing scene that has this drawback but as the sport develops, team setups for both franchises and countries benefitting drone racers could become more appealing with its potential showcased now in two editions of The World Games.
“I can say we could do better for the Olympics because it's our second time competing against each other in The World Games,” replied Gayeon when asked how far her sport could go. “So it's just behind the Olympics but I think we can make it.”
An Olympic showing could be many years in the making but for now Mo Gayeon is determined to be the first-ever gold medalling female pilot in a world-level event.
She didn’t get that accolade in Birmingham and Chengdu, could Karlsruhe be third time the charm?
If she does, she and Korea have her Wushu coach to thank for.