Chicago Woman Becomes World's Oldest Skydiver at 104: 'Age Is Only a Number'
“The whole thing was delightful, wonderful,” centenarian Dorothy Hoffner said of her historic jump
A Chicago woman is now the oldest parachutist in the world!
Dorothy Hoffner, 104, became the oldest person to skydive on Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune, which documented the moment.
After the Chicago native skydived for the first time at 100, she decided that her next jump was going to be different, according to FOX 32 Chicago. She wanted to set a world record.
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Four years after her first jump, Hoffner completed the historic skydive with the help of tandem jumper Derek Baxter — and a crowd of supporters — in Ottawa, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reported.
After landing, photos captured by the newspaper show the centenarian, along with Baxter and a friend, waving at the crowd of onlookers who gathered to witness the milestone.
The photos also show the 104-year-old taking a well-deserved bow after sticking the landing.
In footage shared by Jake Sheridan, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Hoffner addressed the crowd and the press after her monumental skydive.
When asked how it felt to be back on the ground, she replied, “Wonderful. But it was wonderful up there, too.”
“The whole thing was delightful, wonderful,” she said. “Couldn’t have been better if we thought of it ourselves.”
What’s next for Hoffner? “One never knows,” she told reporters.
She did, however, hint that a third jump and a hot air balloon excursion may be in her future. “I’ve never been on one,” she said.
When asked how it felt to — unofficially — hold a world record, she replied, “Like I’m old.”
“Age is only a number, you know,” she told reporters.
Hoffner also thanked the press and the crowd for witnessing her special moment.
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"Thank you for being here. I think that’s very wonderful of you,” she said, adding that being in front of a cheering crowd is “a little strange” because she is “not used to publicity.”
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Before Hoffner, the world’s current oldest parachutist was Rut Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden, according to Guinness World Records. She earned the title in May 2022 when she was 103.
Skydive Chicago is currently working with Guinness to certify Hoffner’s jump, per FOX 32 Chicago.
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