by An 86-year-old woman is jumping towards a personal record: 1,000 skydives.
Kim Knor, a Michigan native — and former Connecticut resident who used to do jumps out of Orange, Massachusetts — completed
her 865th jump
this week out of Boston Skydive Center in Rhode Island and plans to reach her goal by this fall.
After winning gold as a member of the first women’s US Parachute Team in 1962,
Knor’s 1,000 jumps
will earn her gold again — this time gold wings — from the United States Parachute Association.
This week, Knor will dive across Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, with plans to reach 900 jumps by the end of the month.
“For the moment, you’re flying like a bird and there’s no airplane or balloon or anything holding me there other than me flying around,” Knor told Boston.com.
But the thrill of the jump isn’t what keeps Knor coming back. “There’s a lot of weather that you sit around waiting for the sky to clear, and the people make it worthwhile to wait,” Knor said.
One of her favorite jumps was in Galveston, Texas. The “unique” dive involved traveling to three locations: an office for filling out paperwork, an airport, and a beach. When she landed in the drop zone on the beach, she said “somebody picks you up and takes you back to the beginning again.”
As a child, Knor became inspired to take up skydiving when her uncle brought a ripped parachute home from fighting in WWII. She took her first jump in 1959 at 20 years old,
forging her parent’s signature to do so
, and continued skydiving until 1966.
Watch a video of Kim Knor skydiving in 2024:
She then took a 37-year hiatus from skydiving to raise her children and grandchildren before returning in 2003.
Knor’s family members have all jumped with her at least once, she said. She’s inspired two to try for their skydiving licenses, but their pursuits to do so are delayed by their careers and other forms of thrill seeking, like mountain climbing.
When she achieves 1,000 skydives in September or October, Knor’s celebratory jump will be over
the pyramids in Egypt
, she said.
A post shared by Boston Skydive Center (@bostonskydivecenter)
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