A Chicago centenarian has become the oldest person ever to skydive after jumping out of a plane at 13,500 feet in northern Illinois Sunday.
Dorothy Hoffner, 104, is likely to break the Guinness World Record, once her jump is certified, for the oldest skydiver – a feat currently held by 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson.
‘Age is just a number,’ Hoffner told a cheering crowd after touching the ground Sunday at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, about 85 miles southwest of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Hoffner took her first skydiving plunge four years ago after she turned 100 years old simply because ‘it sounded interesting,’ she told her friend Joe Conant, 62, who joined her in both that initial jump and the recent one on Sunday.
‘The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better,’ she said after landing.
Dorothy Hoffner has become the oldest person ever to skydive after jumping out of a plane at 13,500ft in northern Illinois Sunday
She took her first skydiving plunge four years ago after she turned a century old simply because ‘it sounded interesting’
After seven minutes in the air, she clung to the harness over her narrow shoulders, picked up her legs and plopped softly onto the grassy landing area
Hoffner insisted on taking the lead when the aft door opened for the jump
Hoffner’s jump was originally scheduled for early September but was delayed three times due to bad weather.
On Sunday, she left her walker behind just short of the plane – a white Skyvan – and was helped up the steps by two instructions to join the others waiting inside.
‘Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!’ she said after boarding the plane and seated.
She was the only passenger not wearing ear plugs as the plane rose quickly. With a confident smile, she insisted on taking the lead when the aft door opened for the jump.
She said she had to be pushed out of the aircraft four years ago, but ‘wanted to take charge’ this time.
Finally, she leaped into the air from 13,500 feet, immersed herself in the sight of curly river streams and patches of land before making a historical landing.
The dive lasted seven minutes. 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.
Friends rushed to Hoffner to share their congratulations as someone brought over her red walker.
Hoffner rose quickly and said, ‘wonderful, but it was wonderful up there’, when a reporter asked her how it felt to be back on the ground.
Skydive Chicago is working to have Guinness World Records certify Hoffner’s jump as a record, WLS-TV reported, but she didn’t seem too fussed about it.
When asked what it felt like to hold the age-based record, she answered quickly: ‘Like I’m old.’
Her mind turned to the future and other challenges. Being set to turn 105 in December, Hoffner said she might take a ride in a hot-air balloon next.
‘I´ve never been in one of those,’ she said.
She left her walker behind just short of the plane – a white Skyvan – and was helped up the steps by two instructions to join the others waiting inside
Once her jump is certified, she is likely to break the Guinness World Record for the oldest skydiver
Born in 1918 after World War I, Hoffner had survived both the Spanish flu and Covid pandemics. She spent her whole life in Chicago.
Grew up poor and couldn’t afford college, she worked as an operator for Illinois Bell, a telephone company later became a part of AT&T.
She has never married or had a child. Describing herself as ‘an unclaimed treasure,’ Hoffner said she never had to deal with the responsibility of kids.
She told the Chicago Tribune: ‘Or the pettiness and the mess of a husband. I never had to take care of anyone but me.’
It gave her life more freedom and chances for beautiful adventure, she said when interviewed by the New York Times.
She enjoyed weekend trips across the country driving in her blue Dodge Coronet; bus rides with friends to beachy town in Mexico; and boat rides on the Danube River in Germany.
She also traveled to England, Panama, Italy twice and France.
Hoffner encouraged everyone to try skydiving because it’s ‘surprisingly affordable and so peaceful.’
She also advised those who want to try: ‘When you’re coming down, make sure you’ve got someone with you. That’s the important thing,’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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