Drone Racing was one of the spectacular new sports on The World Games programme last time round in Birmingham 2022. It gained many new fans with its high-flying spectacle of speed, precision, and technological prowess.
This year, GaYeon Mo from Korea will be competing for the second time at the Games, and she will be preparing meticulously for the event. And she is aiming high: "I want to bring a medal home for myself and my country. I will do my best to achieve a great result," she says.
“A central part of my life”
Mo started drone racing at age 17. She has been hooked ever since, making drones part of her lifestyle, with studies and now professionally. Since graduating from university with a major in English, and a second major related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), she has been working with drones professionally — flying, filming, and shooting for TV commercials, movies, music videos, and similar projects. Now aged 24, Mo’s passion for drones has become a central part of her life.
And that passion is strongest when she is racing: “One of my most unforgettable memories is a championship in Shenzhen, China, in 2018, my first FAI World Drone Racing Championship (WDRC). The outcome of this race exceeded my expectations and fuelled my passion for the sport.”
She went on to compete again at WDRC in 2023, gaining a 4th place among the women and helping her team become overall champions, a feat repeated at WDRC 2024.
A fast-growing sport
Speedy, exciting, and highly skilled - Drone Racing is one of the fastest-growing air sports in the world today. Participants operate small quadcopter drones equipped with onboard digital video cameras, with the operator wearing a head-mounted display – a FPV (first-person view) goggle. The pilots steer the drones around a specially built course, flying through gates and around obstacles to reach the finish line in the fastest time.
The goggles are also used by spectators, who switch the frequency to the channel of the racer the spectator wants to watch. Via the live-stream first-person view of the action, both pilots and fans experience the illusion of flying at breakneck speed. The drones travel at speeds of more than 160 km per hour.
Started in sport with martial arts
Mo, who was introduced to drone racing by her martial arts instructor, says her years of Taekwondo and Wushu training showed her she could succeed in a male-dominated sport.
“The director at the Wushu training centre where I practice martial arts helped me to start drone racing,” she says. “Learning and practicing Taekwondo and Wushu with boys since childhood has taught me that I can hold my own against male competitors. And in drone racing, female pilots were rare. The speed of the sport attracted me, and I wanted to challenge myself to do something new.”
“I think that female pilots may have some advantage over male competitors, as drone racing requires you to undertake delicate manoeuvres while travelling at high speed,” she says.
She hopes to see many more women getting involved in the sport in the future. When asked about the costs of Drone Racing, she says: "It costs around $400 to $500 to build a single drone (assuming there is no sponsorship). For someone who cannot dedicate everything to drones, it might feel expensive."
Qualifying for The World Games
The selection of the 30 qualified athletes, which for Chengdu includes 11 juniors and six female pilots, is based on performances in key events sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). The 2024 FAI World Drone Racing Championship, held in Hangzhou, China, and the FAI Drone Racing World Cup series played a crucial role in determining the final rankings. 21 nations will be represented in Chengdu. Mo is one of three athletes from Korea who have qualified. "Koreans tend to do things quickly and have a strong competitive spirit, which drives them to practice and prepare for competitions more thoroughly than others."
Mo’s big goals
Korea had two representatives at The World Games in 2022 – and narrowly missed out on a medal: ChangHyeon Kang was fourth. Mo’s aim for Chengdu is to finish at least one position better!
And she has high ambitions for her future as a drone racer: “My goal is to participate in as many races as possible to get more experience and perform better, so that I can achieve my dream of becoming the first-ever female pilot to take overall first place in a world-level event.”