YOUNG AT HEART
85-year-old, Kim Knor, on a quest reach 1000 skydives
Kim Knor had dreamed of floating under a parachute since she was 5 years old. She became immediately fascinated with the idea when her uncle showed her a military parachute from WWII. She began skydiving in 1959, forging her parent’s signature in order to jump under the legal age. During her time as an active skydiver (License Number D-221), she accumulated 550 jumps.
In 1961 she qualified to be a representative on the US Parachute Team. In 1962, she made history by being a part of the first ever US Women’s Team for skydiving, which won gold in Accuracy at the 6th World Parachuting Championships. After selling most of her possessions, Kim bought an open-ended plane ticket to Europe and visited 21 countries- traveling as a parachuting enthusiast.
After a 37-year break from skydiving, time spent raising a family, Kim returned to the sport in 2003. These days, this driven, young-at-heart woman is in pursuit of a new dream. Though she no longer jumps solo, Kim has done more than 150 tandem jumps in the last 2 years and currently sits at just over 700 skydives. Her goal is to reach 1000 jumps and earn her Golden Wings- an award acknowledging the achievement by the United States Parachute Association.
In July of 2024 Skydive Midwest got a call asking if we would host Kim and donate some tandem jumps; we immediately said yes. Daina Tubbs, teamed up with us and generously donated her services as Kim’s Tandem Instructor. We thought it was fitting that an “OG” female skydiver should jump with one of the most badass women skydivers at our drop zone.
Watch Kim and Daina skydive on the SDMW YouTube Channel.
So many of us let go of our dreams and stop challenging ourselves as we get older. Kim is a wonderful example to the rest of us that it’s never too late to follow your dreams. We feel honored to be a part of her journey.
Kim continues to travel the country in her RV in pursuit of her 1000 skydives. We’re proud to be a part of a community that supports and takes care of its own; drop zones have been signing up to host Kim and donating tandems to help her achieve her goal. Best wishes and blue skies to Miss Kim Knor.
