Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World

Australian great-grandmother, 102, becomes world's oldest skydiver in bid to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease

Irene O'Shea with skydiving instructor Jed Smith (Picture: SA Skydiving/YouTube)

A 102-year-old woman from Australia has broken the record for the oldest skydiver in the world in a bid to raise awareness for the disease that killed her daughter.

Irene O’Shea, from Athelstone, first skydived for her 100th birthday two years ago and has taken the leap of faith every year since, with 2018’s 14,000ft jump breaking a world record.

The great-grandmother, who has since been hailed an “inspiration”, raised money to help find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease, which killed her daughter 10 years ago.

A GoFundMe page set up hopes to raise $10,000 for Motor Neurone Disease South Australia to help find a cure.

According to SA Skydiving, Ms O’Shea saw this as the “perfect opportunity” to raise money and awareness about the disease.

A spokesman for SA Skydiving said: “Irene is an inspiring woman, living her life to the fullest with incredible humility. The skydive went smoothly and she landed herself in the record books.

Irene O'Shea skydiving with instructor Jed Smith (SA Skydiving/YouTube)

“Irene, once safely, was assisted from the landing area into the arms of some very excited grandkids and great grandkids. Excited congratulations were shared all around.”

When speaking to local reporters about being an "extraordinary adrenaline junkie", SA Diving quotes Ms O'Shea as saying: "As far as I'm concerned I'm the same as everyone else, just a normal person."

A video by SA Skydiving shows the pensioner in a knitted jumper as she gives a smile and thumbs up to the camera before jumping from the aeroplane at 14,000ft.

Responding to the video, one said: “Absolutely fantastic! What a courageous and inspiring woman.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.