The Drop

Brianne Thompson: ‘Purposeful Training’ Led to Rankings Jump at USPA Nationals

Original interview by Jen Booton, Oct 06, 2023

Thompson took third in the Open class for speed, jumping from an 11th place finish in 2022.

After showing up in 2022 without any focused training in speed and ranking 11th, Brianne Thompson jumped up to the podium this year after spending much of 2023 training in speed with national champion (and husband) Niklas Daniel.

Brianne Thompson won third place in the Open class at the 2023 USPA Nationals in September, scoring bronze against the best male and female speed fliers in the with an average speed of 473.76 kilometers per hour. Daniel won gold with an average of 508.90 kph.

“All of my previous Speed Nationals I only did the competition. No training, no plan. Just show up for fun,” Thompson said in a recent interview with Skydiving FanNation. “2023 was the first year where I had a plan and executed purposeful training.”

Life and training partner Daniel “taught me quite a bit this season,” she said.

Thompson, an Axis Flight School coach who has previously achieved medals at the USPA Nationals and FAI World Cup for formation skydiving, vertical formation skydiving, mixed formation skydiving and speed, was the first female finisher. The next woman finisher was Katie Hansen in 11th place with an average speed of 422.97 km/h.

“It was awesome to have tangible evidence that the hard work and sacrifice paid off for something,” she said.

In this Q&A, Thompson discusses the benefits of competition, how women can live bold lives, and what she’s looking to achieve next in speed skydiving:

On advice for skydivers eyeing the competitive side of the sport…

Do it. If it is something you even think you want, do it and discover it for yourself. I think competition is such a great thing. We learn so much about ourselves. It is important to push yourself, competitively speaking, against others. My second piece of advice is purposeful training with a qualified coach or expert.

Wise words for how other women can compete and play in areas that were previously led by men?

Quite simply, show up, get out there and do it. Do not worry who is there, who was previously there, the men-to-women ratio – none of that. If you are already a skydiver, you are already pretty brave. Continue that path. If you want something, go after it.

On what she’s up to next…

The next major goal is to break 500 kph. I plan to continue to train and compete in Speed and I look forward to having more female speed competitors next to me.

Brianne Thompson Wins Speed Skydiving Bronze at USPA Nationals

Original article by Basak Richardson, Sep 23, 2023

She won bronze overall with an average speed of 473.76 kilometers per hour, about 50 km/h faster than the next female finisher.

Brianne Thompson won third place in the Open class at the 2023 USPA Nationals in September, scoring bronze against the best male and female speed fliers in the with an average speed of 473.76 kilometers per hour. 

Thompson, an Axis Flight School coach who has previously achieved medals at the USPA Nationals and FAI World Cup for formation skydiving, vertical formation skydiving, mixed formation skydiving and speed, was also the first female finisher. The next woman finisher was Katie Hansen in 11th place with an average speed of 422.97 km/h.Last year at the 2022 USPA Nationals, Thompson came in 12th with an average speed of 366.16 km/h. Her speed improved by more than 100 km/h in one year.

At the 5th FAI World Cup of Speed Skydiving in Prostejov, Czech Republic last month, Thompson earned silver in the female category behind Natisha Dingle of Australia.

She also achieve three new records, including the North American Speed Skydiving record for highest average speed in the female category at 481.04 km/h and highest overall female average at 472.77 km/h. She also set the women’s record for maximum vertical speed without a drogue.

All records Brianne set in 2023 (14 total)