Local skydiver reaches historic heights at national competition
CASA GRANDE — Since beginning her professional skydiving career, Casa Grande resident Brianne Thompson has always strived to push her limits and achieve what was thought to be impossible. A world-renowned competitor, Thompson has accomplished numerous achievements.
However, no achievement was greater than…
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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:
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.
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.
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)
On September 14 – 16, Brianne and Nik of AXIS Flight School attended the 2023 USPA National Speed Skydiving Championships at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina.
This year had one of the largest turn outs with 15 competitors, 4 of them female. The weather was great and the meet was completed in one and a half days. Nik defended his title with a total score of 4071.23kmh, averaging 508.90kmh. Brianne took 3rd with a total score of 3790.04kmh, averaging 473.76kmh. Both improved slightly since the Skydiving World Cup in the Czech Republic three weeks earlier.
A Close Race
This comeptition saw one of the tighest finishes after 8 rounds. Brianne Thompson took bronze ahead of Mike Brewer by .05kmh. This makes Brainne the first female to reach the Open Podium at a USPA Nationals in Speed Skydiving.
In addition to going home with some medals, AXIS also set some State, National, and North American Continental Records:
Niklas Daniel:
1) North Carolina State: Fastest Speed – 513.54km/hr
2) North Carolina State: Highest Overall Avg – 508.90km/hr
3) FAI North American Continental (G-2): Fastest Speed w/o Drogue 522.3km/hr
Brianne Thompson:
1) North Carolina State: Fastest Speed (Female) 481.75km/hr
2) North Carolina State: Highest Overall Avg (Female) 476.48km/hr
3) North Carolina State: Highest Speed w/o Drogue (Female) 487.5km/hr
4) USPA National: Fastest Speed (Female) 481.75km/hr
5) USPA National: Highest Overall Avg (Female) 476.48km/hr
6) USPA National: Highest Speed w/o Drogue (Female) 487.5km/hr
7) FAI North American Continental: Fastest Speed (Female) 481.75km/hr
8) FAI North American Continental: Highest Overall Avg (Female) 476.48km/hr
9) FAI North American Continental (G-2): Fastest Speed w/o Drogue (Female) 487.5km/hr
The USA Speed Skydiving Team
The top 8 qualifed to compete at the 2024 5th FAI World Speed Skydiving Championships in Bar Yehuda, Israel.
Congratulations to all competitors who participated. We look forward to seeing you again soon. AXIS Flight School thanks all its sponsors and supporters who have helped us chase our dreams.
On August 19 – 25, 2023 the U.S. Speed Skydiving and Wingsuit flyers tested themselves against the world’s best in Prostejov, Czech Republic at the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation) World Cup Championships.
Brianne Thompson and Niklas Daniel of AXIS Flight School attended the competition representing the United States. Jumping out of a Pilatus Porter, speeders completed all 8 rounds over three days without a single re-jump. The weather was hot (mid 80s to low 90s °F) with the occasional rain showers moving through the area. Most competitors’ performance was a bit slower than anticipated. Several environmental factors can affect the outcome of a speed run, such as weather conditions and the DZ’s field elevation (702 ft/ 214m). In a sense, each competition sight around the world is a racetrack with their own unique variables. Prostejov proved to be a slower track this time of year. Brianne’s highest scoring round was 481.04 km/h (R3) , while Nik’s was 511.87 km/h (R1).
In the Open category, Brianne started in pole position #28, but finished 12th with an average speed of 472.77 km/h. Brianne placed 2nd in the Female category, behind returning World Champion Natisha Dingle from Australia, who had an average speed of 486.99 km/h. Natisha set a new female competition world record in round 5 where she reached an average speed of 496.22 km/h. In addition to returning home with a silver medal, Brianne also broke ISC Continental Competition and Performance Records:
“Speed Skydiving is becoming more compeative each year. The race for world’s first female to join the 500 km/h club is still up for grabs. It won’t be long now” – Niklas Daniel
Nik defended his 2nd place position throughout the competition with an average speed of 508.04 km/h. Marco Hepp from Germany maintained the lead with an average speed of 513.00 km/h (top scoring R5 517.11 km/h). Nik did manage to beat Marco in round 2, but only by half a kilometer. Nik also collected a couple ISC Continental Competition and a Performance Records:
This year’s USA National Speed Skydiving Team line up was comprised of Niklas Daniel, Matthew Fry, and Logan Mahone. The National Team composition is declared before the start of a competition. The individual member’s scores are then aggregated into a group total at the end of the competition. Australia and Germany placed 1st and 2nd respectively. USA placed 3rd with a combined total of 11490.72 km/h. In addition, the team also set two ISC Continental Record:
While Nik’s standings in the ISSA’s Eternal Ranking List remains unchanged, Brianne will move up from #134 to #29, an impressive achievement. This makes Team AXIS the fastest couple in the world 🙂
Brianne and Nik look forward to competing at next month’s 2023 USPA National Skydiving Championships at Skydive Paraclete in Raeford, North Carolina to qualify for the 2024 5th FAI World Speed Skydiving Championships in Bar Yehuda, Israel. The competition sight is right next to the Dead Sea which is -1,266ft MSL.
Congratulations to all competitors who participated. We look forward to seeing you again soon. AXIS Flight School thanks all its sponsors and supporters who have helped us chase our dreams.
The Drop 