Paper plane world championships ... exist!

May 6, 2009 1:30 PM

After two days of intense competition the winners of the paper aeroplane world championships have finally been decided.

Over 250 contestants from 83 countries took part in the finals in Salzburg, Austria, each trying to prove they could produce the world's best paper plane.

Using nothing but a standard A4 sheet of paper and arm-power they vied for a selection of titles including 'Longest Airtime' and 'Longest Distance.'

The winners were issued with a certificate ... which they promptly folded into a plane and threw it as far as they could.

Jovica Kozlica from Coratia managed to hurl his plane 54.5m for the longest distance title.

Leonard Ang from Brazil created a plane which stayed up for 11,66 seconds to scoop the longest airtime title.

"I slept with an ice pack on my shoulder last night. Three weeks of intensive training had taken their toll on my throwing arm," he said.

The path to the finals in Salzburg saw 37,017 competitors taking part in 613 qualifying tournaments across the globe.