The Drop

Skydive Elsinore, California — The 2025 U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) Speed Skydiving Nationals are in the books, and AXIS Flight School’s Niklas Daniel has claimed his fourth consecutive national title.

Despite tricky weather and a few equipment curveballs, the event delivered intense competition, record-setting performances, and the emergence of a powerhouse U.S. national team ready to challenge the world stage.

Chasing Speed Through the Clouds

This year’s competitors jumped from Caravans and contended with challenging skies, dodging low clouds and shifting conditions. The first day of competition was weathered out entirely due to overcast layers.

In Round 1, Nik faced a suit malfunction when his zipper came undone mid-dive—causing his suit to inflate and slow him during the scoring window. Still, he recovered across subsequent rounds to secure the overall victory.

The event featured 16 competitors, including two guest flyers from Great Britain and four female competitors, underscoring the sport’s growing international and gender-inclusive reach.

Results and Highlights

Results verified by InTimeScoring.com.

Podium:

🥉 3rd — Michael Goodwin

🥇 1st — Niklas Daniel

🥈 2nd — Matthew Fry

Both Matt Fry and Michael Goodwin achieved personal bests that earned them a place in the coveted “500 Club”—a distinction reserved for skydivers who exceed 500 km/h in competition. They become members #20 and #21 of this elite group.

Matt’s performance placed him #8 overall and Michael #18 in the ISSA Eternal Rankings. Matt also became the sixth competitor in history to maintain speeds above 500 km/h across all eight competition rounds—a feat of precision and endurance.

As the newly formed USA Speed Skydiving Team, Nik, Matt, and Mike currently hold an aggregate team average of 511.85 km/h. For perspective, the current world record, set by Team Australia at the 2025 FAI World Cup in Austria, stands at 500.91 km/h.

With a year to prepare for the 2026 FAI World Championships, the U.S. team is poised to push those limits even further.

USPA Records and National Achievements

AXIS coaches Nik Daniel and Brianne Thompson also set multiple national and state records during the event. Some performances would have qualified for North American continental records, but could not be ratified due to insufficient judge ranking—an administrative limitation that underscores the growing need for higher-rated officials in U.S. speed events.

Meet the 2025 U.S. Speed Skydiving Team

Representing the United States in 2026:
Jessica Twarog, Patrick Kessler, Jordan DuJack, Daniel Osorio, Niklas Daniel, Matthew Fry, Brianne Thompson, Michael Goodwin, and Eugenio Ciurana.

Nik and Brianne are now preparing to represent the U.S. on home turf at the 2026 World Championships, hosted at Skydive Arizona—a fitting stage for two of the sport’s most experienced athletes and coaches.

New Mixed-Team Event Comes to the U.S.

In a forward-looking move, the USPA Board of Directors has voted to adopt the Mixed Speed Event, a 3-round team category pairing one male and one female competitor. The event mirrors the FAI’s international format, in which mixed-gender teams fly an additional 3 rounds beyond the Open category.

The U.S. will officially add the Mixed Speed Event in 2027, but—as expected—the speed community didn’t wait that long to test it.

The first unofficial U.S. mixed-team results were aggregated from the 2025 Nationals, with Team AXIS (Nik Daniel & Brianne Thompson) taking the top spot at a combined total of 2971.87 km/h.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

AXIS Flight School extends congratulations to every competitor and thanks to Skydive Elsinore for hosting a smooth, safe, and spirited event.

A special thank-you to our sponsors—whose continued support keeps us flying fast, pushing boundaries, and sharing knowledge across the skydiving world.

About AXIS Flight School

AXIS Flight School, based at Skydive Arizona, offers world-class coaching across disciplines—from foundational freefall skills to elite competition training. AXIS is led by professional instructors Niklas Daniel and Brianne Thompson who are both members of the U.S. Parachute Team.

Learn more at axisflightschool.com.