A 102-year-old woman becomes the United Kingdom’s oldest skydiver
A thrill-seeking 102-year-old British woman has just become the oldest person from the United Kingdom to skydive.
Manette Baillie, who had a birthday just days earlier, broke the record Sunday during a tandem jump in eastern England, according to the skydiving company UK Parachuting.
"It was a bit scary," Baillie, a World War II veteran, told BBC Radio 4 after the daring plunge. "I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly.”
She added that she wanted “other people who are getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything. Just keep going."
Baillie did the skydive in part to raise money for three organizations, including the East Anglian Air Ambulance and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, saying that the “deeply cruel disease” had sickened someone close to her.
She was also raising funds for the Benhall & Sternfield Ex Servicemens Club, her local club that she said was “in need of considerable refurbishment.” Baillie has been living in Benhall Green since 1961, the Guardian reported, and previously served with the Women’s Royal Naval Service in Egypt during World War II.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the club said it was “just soooo proud” of Baillie.
The planned jump had people across the UK rooting for the centenarian — even the royal family. William, the Prince of Wales, wrote a personal letter to Baillie offering words of encouragement, the Telegraph reported.
“From my time with East Anglian Air Ambulance, I know how many lives are saved due to the generosity of people like you,” Prince William said. “We will be thinking of you on August 25, and hope you have a great time.”
It’s not the first time Baillie has attempted extreme events in her advanced age. Two years ago, ahead of her 100th birthday, she zoomed around the U.K.’s famed Silverstone racetrack, reaching speeds as high as 130 mph.
According to the BBC, the record for the U.K.’s oldest skydiver was previously held by Verdun Hayes, who in 2017 completed a jump over Devon at age 101.
