The first offical information bulletin for the 6th FAI World Cup of Speed Skydiving at Hohenems Austria has been release (25th – 30th August 2025).
For those competitors who are still interested in receiving their competition flysight tracks from the 5th FAI World Speed Skydiving Championships 2024, you can now put in a request to: isc-judges@fai.org
The International Speed Skydiving Association (ISSA) is a non-profit organization that promotes speed skydiving, organizes annual World Cup Series events, and develops the sport. The World Cup Series is a sequence of meets held around the world. The competitor with the most points at the end of the season is the ISSA Speed Skydiving World Series Champion. Competitors are scored in three categories: Open, Female, and Junior, where they perform solo speed skydives over eight rounds. Their scores are aggregated from their two best competition performances. The 2024 season concluded on December 8th at Skydive Arizona, where AXIS Flight School hosted the final event. Throughout the year there were seven events across the globe. Participating drop zones included: Skydive Great Ocean Road (AUS), Skydive Arizona (USA) x2, Skydive Saulgau (GER), Skydive Fano (ITA), Neustadt Glewe (GER), and Skydive Stockholm (SWE). In total there were 61 competitors from 11 countries.
OPEN
| Place | Athlete | Country | Overall | Highest Scoring Round |
| 1 | Niklas Daniel | USA | 1036.57 | 530.3kmh / 329.5mph |
| 2 | Marco Hepp | GER | 1030.29 | 521.6kmh / 324.1mph |
| 3 | Mervyn O’Connell | AUS | 991.33 | 503.2kmh / 312.7mph |
FEMALE
| Place | Athlete | Country | Overall | Highest Scoring Round | Open Rank |
| 1 | Brianne Thompson | USA | 951.13 | 481.1kmh / 298.9mph | 6 |
| 2 | Tanita Rutherford | AUS | 931.50 | 476.9kmh / 296.3mph | 10 |
| 3 | Sara Lundqvist | SWE | 886.33 | 450.7kmh / 280.1mph | 13 |
JUNIOR (up to 24 years of age)
| Place | Athlete | Country | Overall | Highest Scoring Round | Open Rank |
| 1 | Linus Eckenigk | GER | 881.67 | 472.0kmh / 293.3mph | 14 |
| 2 | Nico Hoffmann | GER | 770.01 | 409.6kmh / 254.5mph | 23 |
| 3 | Nelia Molder | GER | 760.99 | 402.4kmh / 250.0mph | 25 |
During the finals in Arizona, Niklas set an unoffical World Record competition score at 530.3kmh (329.5mph) and a new US National Performance Record for maximum vertical speed without drogue at 546.839kmh (339.790mph). For full ISSA World Cup Series results and Eternal Global Rankings, visit: https://www.issa.one
Training for and participating in ISSA events is a great way to learn and get exposure to Speed Skydiving. In general, the discipline is dominated by Europeans and Australians. In the future, we would like to see other American countries like Canadia, as well as Central and South America participate and eventually represent their respective countries at the World Level. With the conclusion of the 2024 season, United States’ Niklas Daniel and Brianne Thompson of AXIS Flight School are now the fastest male and female competitors in the discipline’s history (GPS). They look forward to hosting more ISSA events (March and December) and skill camps in 2025 at Skydive Arizona. More information available at www.AXISFlightSchool.com
To view online magazine, please click here.
What is it?
The ISSA Earnest Holdford Memorial Sword is a perpetual trophy that is presented to the ISSA World Cup Series Champion at the end of each year. The competition consists of several individual international meets. The overall result is determined by the sum of an athlete’s two best competition results regardless of the number of events completed. The competitor with most points is declared ISSA Speed Skydiving World Cup Series Champion for that year. If a competitor elects not participate in some of the available meets, the result for that particular event is zero.
Origin & Design
This trophy was donated by Matthew Holford, a speed skydiver since 2003 and is dedicated to the memory of his grandfather Earnest Holford. Earnest served in the 10th Parachute Regiment (10 Para) of the British Army during WW2 and always dreamt of being able to fall “as fast as a hawk” instead of being limited by the static-line parachute deployment system used by the military. Although he completed a handful of free fall skydives after the war he did not live to see the advent of speed skydiving which would be the realization of his dream. In his later years he collected swords and after his passing Matty presented one of them to the ISSA to be the World Series Winner’s trophy. The sword was one of the props of the multiple Oscar winning 2000 film “Gladiator” starring Russel Crowe. Earnest had acquired the trophy from Universal Studios and Matty thought it an appropriate recognition of the individual, gladitatorial nature of speed skydiving.
The trophy was first presented in 2015 to Marco Wiederkehr without the wood plaque background. In 2018 Max Hurd sponsored the upgrade that gave the trophy its current look, adding the previous winners to the plaque dating all the way back to 2004. At 1 foot wide, 4 feet tall, and weighing in at 17lbs, the award is decorated with small individual gold plaques with every ISSA winner’s names. The trophy is passed on to new winners after the completion of each World Cup Series, rather than being kept by the winner indefinitely. For the first time in the competiton’s 20 year history, the sword can now be found in the United States at AXIS Flight School.
ISSA Champions 2004 – 2024
| YEAR | WINNERS |
| 2004 | Mark Calland (GBR) |
| 2005 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2006 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2007 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2008 | Christian Labhart (SUI) |
| 2009 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2010 | Christian Labhart (SUI) |
| 2011 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2012 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2013 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2014 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2015 | Marco Wiederkehr (SUI) |
| 2016 | Mike Lovemore (GBR) |
| 2017 | Max Hurd (GBR) |
| 2018 | Henrik Raimer (SWE) |
| 2019 | Marco Hepp (GER) |
| 2022 | Marco Hepp (GER) |
| 2023 | Marco Hepp (GER) |
| 2024 | Niklas Daniel (USA) |
For a list of the articles referenced in the video, please visit the Knowledge section on our website.
The 7th and final ISSA World Cup Series Event of 2024 hosted by AXIS Flight School has concluded at Skydive Arizona. Over two days 10 competitors gave it their all, many achieving new personal bests. Congratulations to all participants who came from near and far! Special thanks to Skydive Arizona and the judging team who made this event possible. All photos by Alexandra Timokhina.
Open (highest – round / avg):
1st – Niklas Daniel (530.3 / 527.8)
2nd – Eugene Ciurana (492.7 / 480.21)
3rd – Brianne Thompson (479.3 / 473.7)
Female (highest – round / avg):
1st – Brianne Thompson (479.3 / 473.7)
2nd – Anna Lea (462.5 / 454.6)
3rd – Montana Miller (366.9 / 347.64)
Judges:
Donna “Coop” Bachler (on site), Sudeep Kodavati (remote), Hao Ni (remote).
Join us for The Foundations of Canopy Flight webinar hosted by USPA on December 11th at 5:30pm eastern. This session dives into the core skills every skydiver needs for safe, effective canopy control, from proper harness positioning and weight shifting to toggle inputs and managing canopy dynamics. Perfect your landings, maneuvers, and turns with expert guidance. Don’t miss it! Register here.
Check out some of USPA’s past webinars on their YouTube Playlist.
What is it?
The FAI Tim Mace Memorial Trophy is a perpetual trophy that is presented to the World Champion in Speed Skydiving by the previous Champion every two years. Founded in memory of Timothy Mace, it was presented for the first time to the winner of the 2016 FAI Skydiving Mondial World Championships at Skydive Chicago.
Design
At 16 inches tall and weighing in at 12lbs, the elegant solid stainless-steel trophy resembles a speed skydiver in flight. Beautiful, polished layers of steel plates create the impression of airflow and movement. Around the base of the trophy are small plaques on which the winner’s names accumulate.
Champions
The trophy is passed on to new winners after each World Championship (not World Cups), rather than being kept by the winner indefinitely. This tradition is a great way to celebrate achievements and recognize high performers.
| YEAR | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | HOST CITY |
| 2016 | Henrik Raimer | Sweden | Ottawa, Illinois, USA |
| 2018 | Thomas Moritz Friess | Germany | Gold Coast Queensland, AUS |
| 2021 | Kyle Lobpries | United States | Tanay, RUS |
| 2022 | Marco Hepp | Germany | Eloy, Arizona, USA |
| 2024 | Niklas Daniel | United States | Beauford, North Carolina, USA |
Photos by Niklas Daniel.
| Speed Skydiving (SP) Skydivers reach speeds well over 400 km/h (250mph), diving head-first toward the ground to reach the maximum descent rate possible using nothing but their bodies. Speed skydiving is the fastest non-motorized sport in the world and athletes have eight jumps to attempt the fastest vertical speed for three seconds. A GPS speed measuring device is worn by each competitor that collects the data for the judges. |
On October 5th – 11th, 2024, 44 competitors from 10 nations – Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA – participated in the 5th FAI World Speed Skydiving Championships. The event was organized by Skydive Chicago and Skydive Paraclete XP and hosted at Crystal Coast Skydiving in Beaufort, North Carolina. The city was ranked as “America’s Coolest Small Town” by readers of Budget Travel Magazine. Beaufort is located in North Carolina’s “Inner Banks” region. Crystal coast is a truly scenic area, especially when seen form the air near sunset. Flying over the Atlantic Ocean made the climb to altitude quite enjoyable for someone who lives in the desert.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony took place at Fort Macon, one of the Third System coastal forts that were built around the borders of the still-young United States following the War of 1812. The athletes paraded through the fort with their national flags and were treated to a cannon demonstration during the playing of the national anthem.
Location and Challenges
The competition site has a humid subtropical climate and a field elevation of 10ft / 3m. Many speeders remarked that their performance was between 10-20 km/h slower than in training. While density altitude plays a role in performance, the competitors had a few more challenges to deal with. A powerful solar storm interfered with the athlete’s speed measuring devices, triggering around 60 re-jumps.
A bird strike grounded one of the otters, and on the second to last day there were turbulent winds attributed to hurricane Milton, which had passed over Florida and was on its way out to the Atlantic. Competitors were on a lengthy weather hold until the conditions improved. Despite all these setbacks, the organizers managed to complete all events on time.
Results
Over the 8 open rounds many new competition personal bests were recorded. While there were no new additions to the 500Club during this event, there are two other noteworthy mentions. Congratulations to Sebastián who became the 4th person in history to break 500km/h in every round, and Mervyn who is the 3rd athlete to reach over 520km/h in competition. These achievements will rearrange the ISSA Eternal Rankings when they are updated in the near future.
Nik soared to victory becoming the 2024 FAI World Speed Skydiving Champion. He was able to improve on his previous performance from the USPA Nationals just two weeks earlier. Brianne took 3rd in the female category and placed 18th overall. In the National Team category, Nik, Brianne, and Mike took 1st with a new National Team World Record. Brianne and Nik also took 2nd in the newly established Mixed Team category with a World Record set in round 1.
All speeds below listed in km/h
| Place | Competitor | Country | Total | Average | Highest score |
| 1st | Niklas Daniel | USA | 4180.05 | 522.51 | 525.44 / RD 4 |
| 2nd | Sebastián García Gutiérrez | ESP | 4090.09 | 511.26 | 519.03 / RD 5 |
| 3rd | Mervyn O’connell | AUS | 4060.62 | 507.58 | 522.74 / RD 2 |
| Place | Competitor | Country | Total | Average | Highest score |
| 1st | Natisha Dingle (9th) | AUS | 3865.75 | 483.22 | 492.08 / RD 5 |
| 2nd | Tanita Rutherford (16th) | AUS | 3773.33 | 471.67 | 476.47 / RD 3 |
| 3rd | Brianne Thompson (18th) | USA | 3763.81 | 470.48 | 480.93 / RD 5 |
| Place | Competitors | Country | Total | Highest score |
| 1st | Michael Brewer (10th), Niklas Daniel (1st), Brianne Thompson (18th) | USA | 11804.10 | 1485.01 / RD 5 |
| 2nd | Mervyn O’connell (3rd), Natisha Dingle (9th), Simon Walsh (19th) | AUS | 11685.58 | 1482.58 / RD 2 |
| 3rd | Marco Hepp (4th), Matthias Kraft (12th), Toni Schmidt (13th) | GER | 11669.05 | 1478.21 / RD 5 |
| Place | Competitors | Country | Average | Highest score |
| 1st | Mervyn O’connell (3rd), Natisha Dingle (7th) | AUS | 498.11 | 504.79 / RD 3 |
| 2nd | Brianne Thompson (14th), Niklas Daniel (1st) | USA | 488.74 | 493.52 / RD 2 |
| 3rd | Marco Hepp (2nd), Juliane Radow (16th) | GER | 481.00 | 485.08 / RD 1 |
*Mixed is a separate event from the Open category with an additional three jumps and individual scores.
| Place | Competitor | Country | Total | Average | Highest score |
| 1st | Sebastián García Gutiérrez (2nd) | ESP | 4090.09 | 511.26 | 519.03 / RD 5 |
| 2nd | Linus Eckenigk (23rd) | GER | 3709.37 | 463.67 | 476.22 / RD 5 |
Awards
The awards and closing ceremonies took place at the Crystal Coast Civic Center. During the banquette attendees enjoyed a three-course meal while watching event footage on two jumbotrons. After the meal, the champions were called up on stage to take the podium and receive their medals and trophies.
The TIM MACE trophy is presented to the World Champion in Speed Skydiving to remain in his/her possession until the next World Championships. The Trophy was founded in memory of Timothy Mace and was presented for the first time to the winner of the 2016 World Championship. Past to present: 2016 Henrik Raimer (SWE), 2018 Thomas Moritz Friess (GER), 2021 Kyle Lobpries (USA), 2022 Marco Hepp (GER), 2024 Niklas Daniel (USA).
THANK YOU
AXIS Flight School thanks all of its sponsors, supporters, friends, and family who make chasing our dreams possible. In no particular order: Skydive Arizona, Skyventure Arizona, Performance Designs, UPT, Cypres, Cookie, Vertical Suits, L&B Altimeters, FlySight, and Althoff & Voeller. Special shout out to Heidi, Mickey, Dave, and Kay.
Here is to the Speed Skydiving community which continues to push the limits and brings out the best in each other.
Brianne and Nik took home 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, the FAI Tim Mace trophy, and multiple records.
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