Susie gets the jump on her husband
WITH 17,000 jumps between them it's fair to say that experience was on the side of Wayne and Susie McLachlan at the National Skydiving and Parachuting Championships.
The owners of Skydive Ramblers at Sunshine Coast Airport, along with their staff, cleaned up at the championships at Toogoolawah, but not without some husband and wife rivalry.
Mr McLachlan, the most experienced of the pair, seemed a shoe-in for the gold in the intermediate freefly artistic event.
But it was Mrs McLachlan who had the last laugh and won.
Mrs McLachlan, who is also the founder and event organiser of the Skysisters Female Skydiving Conventions, participated in an all-girls team for the national event.
On the team was Peregian Beach resident Georgia Roberts.
"This was her second competition and the nerves and anticipation of competition were present, but really well controlled," Mrs McLachlan said.
Coolum Beach resident Blake Hopper won gold in the open division and earnt himself a spot in the Australian Parachuting Team.
He is off to Dubai for the world championships in November.
Ms Robert's partner, Christopher Cosgrove, also won gold in his event of the intermediate four-day vertical formation skydiving.
"This event is not creative or artistic, rather the opposite, this event is about scoring points by the team doing a set of predetermined manoeuvres as fast as possible," Mrs McLachlan said.
In other events, Mr McLachlan shared a bronze for filming a female four-way formation skydiving team, Bli Bli resident Brett Higgins won silver in the two-way canopy formation event and Mrs McLachlan won silver for competing in the 10-way speed stars event.
