Montgomery County Native Wins National Skydiving Championships

MAPLE GLEN, PA — A Montgomery County resident came home with a gold medal last week from the National Skydiving Championships in southern California.

Madeleine Wawrzyniak, 21, of Maple Glen, took gold alongside her team in the intermediate eight-way formation event at the 2017 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships.

Wawrzyniak is a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and, according to the U.S. Parachute Association, is a veteran of more than 300 skydives.

The event was held at Skydive Perris, some 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Her event, formation skydiving, involves eight person teams leaping from a plane more than two miles high in the sky, while racing to form geometric formations in freefall before opening their chutes, officials said.

A videographer jumps with the team to record the performance for judges on the ground.

More than 500 divers from around the country competed for gold medals in five different events.

Photos courtesy USPA/David Cherry