Daring 91-year-old celebrates birthday by skydiving
Margaret Walton, who lives at an over-50s community on NSW's Tweed Heads, has been wanting to cross skydiving off her bucket list for years, and this week she finally took the plunge to celebrate her 91st birthday.
The former hotel receptionist parachuted 360 metres above Kirra beach on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia. The incredible image of Margaret perched at the edge of plane, preparing for the initial free fall, shows her looking anything but scared.
She says of the experience “It was a magical feeling. One minute you’re waiting on the edge, the next you can see everything. I’m so thankful I did it”.
Margaret has been wanting to take the plunge for several years, but she said it was only recently that she plucked up the courage to carry through with it.
'I've been wanting to do it for a long time but I had to work up the guts. When I was 85 I signed up to do it but there were some snags with getting the green light from my regular doctor, who was away on leave.'
Gold Coast Skydiving instructor Wayne Bishop said he was impressed with the fearlessness of his eldest female client. “She surprised me. She was really switched on and embraced the whole experience”. Mr Bishop said.
“Even in the 45 seconds of free fall she was relaxed enough to enjoy it and not freaked out”.
Scroll through the gallery above to see all the images of Margaret’s daredevil birthday celebration.
Images: Gold Coast Skydive
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