104-year-old woman attempts jump to secure oldest skydiver record

03 October 2023 , 21:43

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Dorothy Hoffner says skydiving at age 104 is just the beginning (Image: AP)

A 104-year-old woman is crossing her fingers in hopes of being named the oldest skydiver in the world after she made a 13,500 ft jump from the clouds, moments after she was using a walker.

Old timer Dorothy Hoffner exclaimed "age is just a number" as an exuberant crowd cheered her on after she safely landed from her 13,500 ft jump from a plane. The woman had just sky surfed at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, which is about 85 miles south-west of the City of Chicago.

Officials at Skydive Chicago are working to have Guinness World Records certify Dorothy's jump as a record. The current record is held by Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden who was 103 years old when her jump was recorded in May 2022, according to WLS-TV

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Dorothy had been skydiving before at age 100 (TNS)

Amazingly, Dorothy had skydived before when she was 100. Leaving her walker behind near the plane, she was promptly helped up the steps to join other patrons waiting to skydive. "Let's go, let's go, Geronimo!" she said after finding her seat.

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The centenarian expressed a completely different tune this time as Dorothy said she had to be pushed out of the aircraft the first time she skydived. While tethered to a US Parachute Association-certified instructor, She led the charge from the 4,100-meter high aircraft.

Dorothy was greeted by a cheering crowd upon moments after landing (TNS)

Dorothy was calm, confident and fearless when the airborne plane opened its hanger to reveal tan crop fields far below. She slowly crept forward to the edged and took the leap making the perfect forward roll in the sky before flying stable in a free fall.

She spent the next seven minutes descending the clouds as her parachute slowly brought her back to the ground where a exuberant crowd was waiting for her. They rushed over, bringing her red walker with them, and commemorated her return from the sky.

Dorothy said skydiving was "wonderful" (TNS)

When asked about her descent, Dorothy said: “Wonderful, But it was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better.”

Dorothy, seemingly exhilarated from her skydive, talked about conquering other challenges. She considered making her next challenge riding in a hot air balloon. "I’ve never been in one of those,” she said.

The Guinness world record for most consecutive days to skydive(different dropzones), which is recorded at 18 days from June 1 to 18, is held by Jithin Vijayan. Jithin took on this record challenge to hone his skills and gain experience of different types of hazards, planes and weather conditions. He completed skydives all across the UK, ranging from Swansea to the Isle of Wight.

Mataeo Smith