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104-Year-Old Woman Breaks World Record for the Oldest Person to Skydive

By Regina Sienra on October 6, 2023

You're never too old to fulfill your dreams–or even break records. A 104-year-old Chicagoan named Dorothy Hoffner is a prime example. She has just become the oldest person to skydive, and she had the time of her life doing it. After touching ground following her tandem jump alongside a U.S. Parachute Association-certified instructor, she proudly said, “Age is just a number.”

Hoffner took to the skies of Northern Illinois with the help of Skydive Chicago, making her way to the town of Ottawa for the jump. For all the excitement, this wasn't her first time jumping out of the plane. Hoffner's first skydive took place a few years ago, when she was 100. Although back then the instructor helped push them out together, this time she insisted on leading the tandem jump from 13,500 feet up in the air.

A clip shared by Skydive Chicago shows Hoffner determinedly advancing towards the plane on her red walker before being helped on board. Sitting among her fellow skydivers, she's all smiles as she awaits for her time to leap out. Once the aft door opens, the woman confidently jumps out of the plane head first. After completing a forward roll in the sky, the woman hangs on to the harness as she revels in being in free fall. After a few minutes, the instructor opens the parachute, getting ready for a slow descent to the ground.

Before Hoffner's jump, the record for the oldest person to skydive belonged to 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden, who set it in May 2022. Now, Skydive Chicago is petitioning to have Guinness World Records certify Hoffner’s jump as the new record.

As for Hoffner, she seems happy with having achieved this, describing the jump as an incredible experience. “It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn't have been better,” she gushes. Now that she has completed this feat, she is now thinking of her next adventure. Since she is turning 105 in December, she is thinking of celebrating by riding a hot air balloon, saying, “I’ve never been in one of those.”