"If your brother jumped out of an airplane would you do it?"

For Benoit Lemay, the answer is a most definite 'Yes.'

Benoit was just four years old the first time his father strapped him into a parachute and jumped into thin air.

"He hooked me up onto his parachute and there we went at 5000 feet and we jumped out of the plane," said Benoit.

The Lemays have been skydiving ever since, Father Michel, along with Benoit, Martin and Vincent, all in pursuit of their father's vision.

"It was my dream to have a four-way team with all my sons and my goal was to win the Canadian [national championships] and then participate in the world meet," said Michel Lemay.

When they're not up in the sky, the Lemays can often be found at a ground-level training facility in Laval, where even they they flip, roll and dive without touching a foot on the ground.

Even though Benoit did tandem jumps from a young age, the Lemays had to wait a long time before they were allowed to compete. Skydiving competition rules ban anyone under the age of 16.

"When [Benoit] joined instantly our team got better, without training, just because we were all reunited," said Martin.

When Benoit was finally allowed to dive on his own it was everything he thought it would be.

"You're on your own and got your own parachute and there's nobody to tell you what to do when your parachute opens. You've got go by yourself, land by yourself. That's when the real rush comes in and that's why I love it," said Benoit.

Winning doesn't hurt.

The Lemays have been Canadian Champions ever since, and in 2010 placed fifth at the World Meet in Russia.

Later this month they will once again be competing in the World Championships. The event takes place in Dubai from Nov. 28 until Dec. 9, 2012.

But for Benoit, being up in the air is a task he was born to do.

"I wouldn't feel good competing in any other team than with my brothers and father."

 

 

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