Amazing: Thousands of hearts were praying for a 104-year-old woman after she left her walker on the ground and made a tandem jump in northern Illinois aiming to become the world's oldest skydiver. Dorothy Hoffner jumped from a plane at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa on Sunday in the hope of becoming the certified oldest person to ever skydive. Moments after touching the ground, Hoffner said, “Age is just a number,” to the cheering crowd, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Who is the oldest skydiver?
The Guinness World Record for the oldest skydiver was set in May 2022 by 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden. But Skydive Chicago is working to have Guinness World Records certify Hoffner's jump as a record, WLS-TV reported.
She was pushed out of aircraft when she first skydived
Hoffner first skydived when she was 100. On Sunday, she left her walker behind just short of the plane — a Skyvan — and was helped up the steps to join the others waiting inside to skydive. “Let's go, let's go, Geronimo!” Hoffner said after she was finally seated. When she first skydived, she said she had to be pushed out of the aircraft. But on Sunday, tethered to a US Parachute Association-certified instructor, Hoffner insisted on leading the jump from 13,500 feet (4,100 meters).
Who Hoffner executed the perfect skydiving?
She looked calm and confident when the plane was aloft and its aft door opened to reveal tan crop fields far below shortly before she shuffled toward the edge and leaped into the air. She tumbled out of the plane, head first, completing a perfect forward roll in the sky, before flying stable in freefall with her belly facing the ground.
The dive lasted seven minutes, including her parachute's slow descent to the ground. Coming into land, the wind pushed Hoffner's white hair back, she clung to the harness over her narrow shoulders, picked up her legs and plopped softly onto the grassy landing area.
Hoffner shares her experience
Friends rushed in to share congratulations, while someone brought over Hoffner's red walker. She rose quickly and she was asked how it felt to be back on the ground. “Wonderful,” Hoffner said. “But it was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn't have been better." After her jump, Hoffner's mind quickly turned to the future and other challenges. The lifelong Chicago woman, who's set to turn 105 in December, said she might take a ride in a hot-air balloon next. “I've never been in one of those,” she said.
(with inputs from AP)
