OTTAWA, Ill. (AP/WNCN) — While the folks at Guinness World Records haven’t printed a certificate just yet, a Chicago woman broke a world record on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Dorothy Hoffner, at age 104, left her walker on the tarmac before boarding a Skyvan plane on Sunday, ascending up to 12,500 feet. Though, it was not her first time taking the plunge.
Hoffner had her first skydiving adventure when she was 100 years old. At that time, the AP reports Hoffner had to be pushed out of the aircraft.
Sunday was a different story. As she was tethered to a U.S. Parachute Association-certified instructor for a tandem dive, she insisted on leading the jump.
“Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!” Hoffner said after she was finally seated onboard.
Those on board with her for those moments before said she looked calm and confident, even when the plane’s door swung open at altitude to reveal tan crop fields far below.
The dive lasted seven minutes, and the plane beat Hoffner to the ground after her parachute opened for a slow descent.
Finally, the wind pushed Hoffner’s white hair back and she picked up her legs as the ground neared before plopping down onto a grassy area at the airport.
Friends rushed in to share congratulations with her while someone brought over Hoffner’s red walker. She rose quickly and a reporter asked her how it felt to be back on the ground at the Skydive Chicago Airport in Ottawa.
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“Wonderful,” Hoffner said. “But it was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better.”
She also told the cheering crowd, “Age is just a number.”
Looking to the future—and her 105th birthday in December—Hoffner said her first time riding in a hot-air balloon could be next.
