Smyrna Skydiver Wins Gold, Makes National Team

PERRIS, CA — Smyrna's Jeff Jensen, a multi-time national champion, won gold once again in the national skydiving championships and, along with his team, will represent the United States in next year's world championship.

Fresh off a gold medal winning performance at last month’s World Cup, Jensen won his third consecutive national championships in vertical formation skydiving. His team, SDC Core, took gold earlier this week at the 2017 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships at Skydive Perris in Southern California. The win earns the team slots on the U.S. Parachute Team that will compete at the 2018 World Championships in Australia, where they will try to defend their two-time world champion title.

In vertical formation skydiving, four-person teams exit the airplane more than two miles above the ground and perform acrobatic maneuvers in freefall on upright and upside-down axes to complete as many pre-designated formations as possible in time. A videographer jumps with the team to capture the maneuvers for the judges on the ground.

Jensen, 36, has completed more than 7,000 jumps and works as a professional skydiver.

Photo by USPA/David Wybenga