It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s an octogenarian!
A 106-year-old Texas man took back his title as the world’s oldest person to tandem skydive, according to Guinness World Records.
Alfred “Al” Blaschke first earned the record in 2020 at age 103, when he skydived to mark his twin grandsons’ college graduations.
“That was my dream […] I never thought I’d be around this long,” he told the record book at the time.
However, in 2022, Rut Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson, a Swedish woman who was 103 years and 259 days old, took the title from him, so he vowed to reclaim it — and did just that in November.
Blaschke was 106 years and 327 days old when he accomplished the impressive feat, diving in the air at an altitude of 9,000 feet alongside Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas.
Abbott had met the brazen senior when he earned his first record and promised to take part in his next attempt.
“If you think you can’t, you’re just underestimating yourself,” Blaschke said to those gathered, including his children, grandchildren and members of the media.
“Everyone is more capable than they think. They just need to make the decision to try.”