Paragliding glory for great-great grandma

Salt Lake City: A 101-year-old Utah woman who ushered in her birthday with a tandem paraglide ride last year soared into the record books yesterday.

Great-great grandmother Mary Hardison of Ogden has been officially recognised as the ‘Oldest Female to Paraglide Tandem' by Guinness World Records.

She has supplanted a 100-year-old woman from Cyprus who took her flight in 2007.

Hardison flew with an instructor on September 1, 2011, while four generations of her family watched and cheered. The flight went smoothly and even included a few tricks that Hardison encouraged.

In a questionnaire submitted to Guinness, Hardison said she wanted to paraglide because her 75-year-old son began doing it as a hobby. "I didn't want him to do something that I couldn't do," Hardison said.

Fear never entered the equation for Hardison, who previously rode all of the adult rides at Disneyland to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Hardison told Guinness there was no reason for her to be nervous about paragliding because many other people have done it without any problems.

"If it's safe for them, then it's safe for me," she said.