102-Year-Old Woman Becomes UK’s Oldest Skydiver

A British woman on Sunday celebrated her 102nd birthday by skydiving out of a plane and said she hoped her daredevil antics might inspire other elderly people to stay active.

Manette Baillie said it was “a bit scary”, adding “I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly.”

Baillie told BBC radio she just wanted “other people who are getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything. Just keep going”.

It’s not the first time the centenarian from the village of Benhall Green in eastern England has taken on a daredevil challenge.

She drove around the Silverstone motor racing circuit in a Ferrari at 210 kilometres per hour (130 miles per hour) to mark her 100th birthday two years ago.

The skydive at Beccles Airfield involved Baillie jumping from a height of more than 2,100 metres (6,900 feet), with an assistant strapped into the harness with her.

Baillie said earlier she had been spurred into action after hearing about a friend’s 85-year-old father who had done a skydive.

“If an 85-year-old man can do it, so can I,” she said.