UK woman marks 102nd birthday with skydive

‘SCARY’ ANTIC Manette Baillie 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. —Goldster/X

LONDON, United Kingdom — 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.”

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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 kilometers 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 meters (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. —Agence France-Presse