DENVER -- Two years ago, my colleague Alison Mastrangelo, introduced you to the world of indoor skydiving, and Sydney Kennett.
She’s now a 13-year-old national champion.
In January, Kennett won the iFLY 2020 U.S. Indoor Skydiving (USIS) Open National Championship in the Freestyle Jr. Open division. Then, a few weeks later, she won in Junior Freestyle at the 2020 WindGames in Spain.
In May, she’s slated to compete in the 2020 World Cup.
She’s accomplished quite a bit in her young life, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t nervous stepping into the tunnel.
"I was super nervous,” Kennett said, recalling her first big competition. “You're competing against some of the world's best people. But it was super fun because all of my friends were there, and I was competing against my friends, so it wasn't like a competition, necessarily."
The wind tunnel is Kennett’s safe space, her home.
"I'm more of a shy kid at school,” she said. “When I get to the tunnel everyone's my family, so I'm just a crazy person. I talk to myself a lot in there for some reason."
This young woman is brimming with confidence built on tireless work ethic and earned success.
"I make up a lot of new moves and stuff but a lot of the moves that I make up, only I can do really because they're super hard to do,” says Kennett.
Young, talented, and motivated, Kennett is destined for graceful greatness.
But there is one thing her future likely doesn’t include – outdoor skydiving.
"I'm really, really scared of heights."
