Dani Griffith wins gold at National Skydiving Championships

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Woodlands native Dani Griffith won a gold medal last week in the advanced 4-way formation skydiving competition at the 2012 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships. The competition took place at Skydive Arizona, an expansive skydiving resort south of Phoenix.

A full time student at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Dani has trained with her team for the past two and a half years completing over 500 skydives. As a young cadet she was honored to make the Air Force's skydiving team, The Wings of Blue.

On her four-member team, Air Force Paradigm, Dani flies the "Point" position. She and her teammates comprise the four corners of the country; Dustin is from Washington, Erin is from Michigan, and John is from New Jersey. Although they come from all over the country, Air Force Paradigm have trained to dive as a team.

"We work together in free fall to make formations in the sky, competing against other teams on the number of formations completed per jump," said Dani.

Happy to see their hard work pay off with the success of a gold medal in the 4-way advanced formation, this was the first year the Wings of Blue Parachuting Team sent competitors to the Advanced division of the U.S. Nationals.

"The competition itself was actually very exciting and came down to a tie-breaking round between my team, Air Force Paradigm, and our sister team, Air Force Legacy," said Dani.

To view the scores for the dives visit the Skydive Arizona link below. By clicking on the individual dives you can view the video of each jump made by Air Force Paradigm and their competitors.

Before attending the Air Force Academy, Dani went to College Park High School and played volleyball and basketball while attending the Academy of Science and Technology.

As a freshman at the Air Force Academy, Dani walked-on to the Division I Air Force Volleyball team. However, when she made the Wings of Blue Parachuting Team, she found her calling.

Currently a senior, Dani will graduate with a bachelors of science degree in Systems Engineering and become a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force. No doubt she will continue to represent our community honorably and make her family proud. As Dani says, "I am the oldest of six kids, and plan to be far surpassed by the amazing things my younger siblings will accomplish."