Portsmouth native wins national skydiving championships

PORTSMOUTH -- Portsmouth native Jen Davidson won a gold medal recently at the 2017 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships at Skydive Perris in Southern California.
    Davidson and her team, the U.S. Army Golden Knights, took gold in the eight-way formation skydiving event. Her win also earned her a slot on the prestigious U.S. Parachute Team that will compete at the 2018 World Skydiving Championships in Australia.
    The National Championships drew more than 500 skydivers from across the country vying for medals in five different skydiving disciplines. In formation skydiving, 8-person teams exit the airplane more than two miles above the ground and race against the clock to form prescribed geometric formations in freefall before opening their parachutes. A videographer jumps with the team to capture the maneuvers for the judges on the ground.