1:50pm — Abruzzo “Doing Very Well” .

Richard Abruzzo underwent surgery at a Garden City, Kan., hospital Monday after suffering a broken wrist, broken ribs and a broken pelvis tangling with a power line in southwestern Kansas on Sunday.
"He’s doing very well" and could be on his way back to Albuquerque in the next few days, said Balloon Fiesta spokeswoman Kathie Leyendecker.

Abruzzo’s co-pilot Carol Rymer Davis escaped injury and managed to land the balloon by herself, Leyendecker said.

Meanwhile, four of the 12 balloons that started the prestigious Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett from Albuquerque on Saturday were still aloft as of 1:30 p.m. Monday and as of late Monday morning, six of the balloons had broken the Gordon Bennett’s 93-year-old distance record.

No matter who wins, said Leyendecker, "they’ll all have bragging rights."

The previous record, set in 1912, was 1,361 miles.

The first-place balloon piloted by Wilhelm Eimers and Ulrich Seel of Germany had gone 1,740 miles and was crossing into Canada early Monday afternoon, while the second-place Swiss balloon piloted by Christian Stoll and Walter Mattenberger was just 10 miles behind.

Abruzzo and Rymer Davis piloted last year’s Gordon Bennett winner bringing the competition back to the United States for the first time since 1999.

The America’s Challenge competition, which also took off Saturday from Albuquerque had the U.S. team of Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo in the lead at 1,560 miles.

8:10am — Balloon Races Tighten: Only 130 miles separate 7 balloons still aloft in Gordon Bennett. Surviving gas balloons in the Gordon Bennett and America’s Challenge races that lifted off from Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque Saturday were near the Great Lakes early Monday and headed for Canada, said Balloon Fiesta spokeswoman Kathie Leyendecker.
It appears that the 100-year-old Gordon Bennett race will be headed back to Europe, with Germany’s Wilhelm Eimers and Ulrich Seel in the lead at 1480 miles, Switzerland’s Christian Stoll and Walter Mattenberger some 30 miles behind and Belgium’s Ronny Van Havere and Luc Van Geyte in third place at 1390 miles out.
Still, only 130 miles separate the seven balloons remaining in the race, which is far from over, said eyendecker.
"That’s what makes gas ballooning so exciting," she said.
Last year’s Gordon Bennett winners, Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis, brought the prestigious cup race back to the United States with their win last year. But their quest to repeat came to a rude but dramatic end in southwest Kansas on Sunday.
Their balloon struck a power line near Kendall, Kan., and Abruzzo fell from the basket, while the balloon shot up some 14,000 with Rymer Davis still aboard. She managed to bring the balloon to a safe landing about 10 miles from the original impact.
Abruzzo suffered broken bones in the incident and remained hospitalized at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, Kan., early Monday. An update on his condition should be available early this afternoon, Leyendecker said. For a full report see the article in today’s Journal.