Unique skydivers from across the world: From gliding to wedding venue to solving Rubik's cube mid-air
With the recent 102-year-old Manette Baillie becoming the oldest person in Britain to skydive, we look at skydivers who have made a mark at an altitude
Age is just a number


On her 102nd birthday, Manette Baillie became the oldest person to skydive in Britain as she jumped from a plane at an altitude of over 2,100 meters (6,900 ft) at Beccles Airfield, United Kingdom. With an assistant strapped to her harness, she leaped into the sky, experiencing both excitement and fear. Baillie hopes to show people in their 80s and 90s that they can continue to pursue their passions and dreams.
The groom skydives to the venue


Making quite an entrance at his wedding last year, amputee war veteran Chris Parkes and his groomsmen skydived to the venue in Langley Castle, UK. Creating a Guinness World Record for the largest wedding party to skydive to a wedding venue, they trained for six months to ace their landing in front of 200 guests in the field near the castle entrance.
A leap of faith like no other

In 2016, Luke Aikins became the first person to dive from mid-tropospheric altitude and land safely without a parachute or a wingsuit and the second skydiver to jump and land without using a parachute. After preparing for a year-and-a-half, he leaped 25,000 ft (7,600m) from a plane and landed safely in a 100ft by 100ft net in Simi Valley, California, USA. He used a GPS unit to guide him to the net.
Disability no bar

After he was told that he couldn’t take part in a charity skydive due to his Down’s syndrome, 19-year-old Lloyd Martin finally realised his wish. He successfully completed a jump at Hinton skydiving centre in the UK this month, proving that no disability can come between his dreams.
A rebellious move

When his parents refused him for a Mount Everest hike, Jithin Vijayan, an IT professional from Kerala, procured his skydiving license and jumped off 200 planes in 2022. Along the way, he jumped from 23 different locations across the world and set three Guinness World Records, out of which, one included jumping from the highest altitude with a flag at 42,431 ft in Whiteville, West Tennessee, US.
A genius glide

Proving his brain power in the air, 17-year-old Sam Sieracki created a new Guinness World Record record for solving the Rubik’s cube in 28.25 seconds in his freefall. After previous five attempts of breaking the old records, he jumped out of an aeroplane at around 200 kilometres/hour at 14,000 feet over Jurien Bay, Australia. Beating the record was a culmination of his two passions: speed-cubing and skydiving.
A dive, but not from the plane!

Amazing everyone at the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony recently, actor Tom Cruise made a jaw-dropping entrance from the sky to the Stade de France. In a nod to his iconic role in Mission: Impossible, he did to signify the official handover of the Olympic flag to the Los Angeles committee. Once he reached the ground and received the Olympic flag, he hopped onto a waiting motorcycle, flag in tow, and sped out of the stadium.
