
Audio By Carbonatix
A 104-year-old Chicago woman is hoping to be certified as the oldest person to ever skydive after leaving her walker on the ground and making a tandem jump in northern Illinois.
“Age is just a number,” Dorothy Hoffner told a cheering crowd moments after touching the ground Sunday at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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.
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 U.S. Parachute Association-certified instructor, Hoffner insisted on leading the jump from 13,500 feet (4,100 meters).
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 in to 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 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.
Latest Stories
-
Partey, Inaki Williams start as Queiroz makes four changes for England clash
14 minutes -
LUV FACT-CHECK: NPP did not demand retraction from Kennedy Agyapong over Afari Hospital criticism
18 minutes -
80 children, 1 room: Bugbelle gets room for hope
21 minutes -
VRA warns public over recruitment scam, says it does not charge fees
24 minutes -
Accra dons national colours as fans rally behind Black Stars ahead of England clash
42 minutes -
UMB rallies support for Black Stars with Kumasi float as part of 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign
43 minutes -
Three former Hohoe E.P. SHS students arrested over the destruction of school property
1 hour -
Minority cry foul over exclusion from “Welfare” talks with President Mahama
1 hour -
Sales is not pressure: Your hardest-working salesperson may be costing you the most deals
2 hours -
Family raises safety concerns after Adwoa Safo’s brother granted bail
2 hours -
StanChart hosts inaugural digital assets summit in Accra
2 hours -
GMTF deepens strategic partnership with Multimedia Group to expand public awareness
2 hours -
Ghana to host Africa Monologue Challenge Season 3 as event celebrates continental creative integration
2 hours -
Adwoa Safo referred to Bank Hospital for removal of bullet pellets lodged in her head after Sunday’s shooting
2 hours -
48 bullets were fired at Adwoa Safo – Aunt
2 hours