106 Year Old Skydiver Brings Record back to Texas

It is official, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The oldest person to do a tandem skydive is Texan Al Blashke…again.

Blashke, who is 106 years old, held that same record for a couple of years. In 2020 at the tender age of 103, Al set the record for the first time. Then, in 2022, a Swedish woman beat Al’s record. Rut Linnea Ingegard Larsson did her tandem skydive when she was also 103…but by 2022, a few weeks older than Al Blashke had been back in 2020.

Then, in 2023, a 104-year-old Chicago woman named Dorothy Hoffner shattered the record…and then died one week later. So, I guess it’s Dorothy’s (RIP) record that Al Blashke broke.

I don’t know if Rut Linnea Ingegard Larsson (the record-setter from 2022) is still alive. But if so, Rut…the gauntlet has been thrown!

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was along for the skydive. He wasn’t Al Blashke’s tandem partner. I mean, how would that even work? Whose legs would they use for the landing?

Rather, Governor Abbott jumped from the same plane at the same time with a different tandem partner.  The Guv had told Blashke back when he set the record the first time that he (Abbott) would join him the next time he skydived (skydove?)

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Both Abbott and Blashke had picture-perfect landings. You can see the record-setting jump in this video:

This was Governor Greg Abbott’s first skydive. Mr. Blashke first skydived on his 100^th birthday, all the way back in 2017.

So, this is being reported as if it just happened over the weekend. However, I’m seeing a few sources that say the jump took place back on November 27, 2023. Even the Gerontology Wiki (the ultimate source for fans of really, really old people), says that Al Blashke is now 107 years and 129 days old.

By the way, Al has since set a different record. 107-year-old Alfred Blashke is now officially recognized as the oldest man in Texas!